Wall Folly

Trump’s border wall declaration is facing the first court hearings.
District Court Judge Haywood Gillam heard three hours of testimony including questioning the “emergency” aspects used to justify moving money not appropriate by Congress.

Judge appears skeptical of Trump stance in case challenging his emergency declaration for wall funds

The administration put together a plan for spending about $6 billion dollars, mostly from the Pentagon budget.

NBC News

Also another story

Congress never rejected Trump's border wall funding, US lawyer argues

The judge at the nation’s first hearing on President Trump’s wall project seemed skeptical of the administration’s argument that Congress had never actually rejected wall funding.

SFChronicle.com

This first case is one filed by the Sierra Club. Later cases include one filed by the House of Representatives.

Some things I will watch include (1) whether the plaintiffs have standing and (2) how presidential authority gets defined. I expect this to go beyond district court either way but will also interesting to see how lower courts weigh in here and whether there is disagreement.

This article puts the headline as likely blocking

Judge Likely to Block Trump Border Wall Money Grab

A federal judge indicated Friday he would likely block the Trump administration from diverting $1.6 billion in federal funds to build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, three months after President Donald Trump declared a national emergency to access billions in funds denied by Congress.

www.courthousenews.com

Meanwhile the Pentagon is racing to get project started before the judges weigh in

Courts weigh Trump’s plan to tap Pentagon for border wall

Two cases seek to block the White House from spending Defense Department money to build the wall.

Military Times