Attorney General Keith Ellison announced Monday night that he would be joining a multi-state lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration.
“President Trump, who has been unable to persuade Congress and the country that a wall is necessary, is forcing a constitutional crisis that harms the people of Minnesota. I’ve joined 15 states in suing re: his emergency declaration because I cannot allow him to do that,” Ellison said in a statement posted on Twitter.
President Trump, who has been unable to persuade Congress and the country that a wall is necessary, is forcing a constitutional crisis that harms the people of MN. I've joined 15 states in suing re: his emergency declaration because I cannot allow him to do that.
— Attorney General Keith Ellison (@AGEllison) February 19, 2019
Specifically, Ellison argued that Trump’s declaration would harm Minnesotans by “likely diverting funds legally appropriated to the National Guard, which responds to natural disasters, keeps people safe, and supports communities everywhere in Minnesota.”
He called the emergency declaration an “overreach of executive power that hurts the people of Minnesota and every state in the long term by manufacturing a crisis that endangers the constitutional balance of powers.”
Minnesota will now join California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, and Virginia in the lawsuit.
“[Plaintiff states] bring this action to protect their residents, natural resources, and economic interests from President Donald J. Trump’s flagrant disregard of fundamental separation of powers principles engrained in the United States Constitution,” the lawsuit states. “Contrary to the will of Congress, the President has used the pretext of a manufactured ‘crisis’ of unlawful immigration to declare a national emergency and redirect federal dollars appropriated for drug interdiction, military construction, and law enforcement initiatives toward building a wall on the United States-Mexico border.”
The lawsuit argues that there’s “no objective basis” for the emergency declaration, pointing to its “illegality” and “wholesale lack of necessity.”
“For these reasons, and those discussed below, the Court should declare that the Executive Actions directing the diversion of federal funds and other resources for border wall construction are unlawful and unconstitutional, and enjoin Defendants from taking any action in furtherance of President Trump’s Executive Actions,” it concludes.
In regards to Minnesota, the lawsuit elaborates on Ellison’s claim that the emergency declaration would impact National Guard services in the state.
“The Minnesota National Guard receives more than 96 percent of its funding from the federal government. It performs missions training and prepares citizen soldiers and airmen to respond to, among other things, the Governor of Minnesota for state emergency response, military support, and protection of local communities,” it says.
The lawsuit also claims that diverting federal funding away from the Minnesota National Guard would “compromise the health and safety of Minnesota residents” by limiting funds for “counterdrug programs and domestic drug interdiction activities.”
“The job of Attorney General is to protect the people of Minnesota,” Ellison said Monday. “When the president or the federal government harms the people of Minnesota, I’ll use my the power of my office to protect Minnesotans.”
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Anthony Gockowski is managing editor of Battleground State News and The Minnesota Sun. Follow Anthony on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
