Hawaii joins court action against Trump’s proposed funding for border wall

A multistate coalition including Hawaii has filed court papers to block President Donald Trump from diverting $3.6 billion in military construction funds to build a wall along the border with Mexico.

The Attorney General’s Office said in a news release Saturday those funds would be taken from more than 120 military construction projects — including two in Hawaii. It said Congress has rejected multiple attempts to fund Trump’s wall and contends his attempts to divert funds are unconstitutional.

“This diversion violates the separation of powers that is fundamental to our democracy,” Hawaii Attorney General Clare Connors said. “This illegal act has a direct impact on military facilities at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam and Marine Corps Base Hawaii at Kaneohe Bay, and, therefore a direct impact on the financial health of our state.”

The coalition also said the Trump administration is exceeding its authority by falsely declaring a national emergency to fund the wall, failing to address potential harms to public health and failing to do a required environmental review for the wall.