Pelosi Statement on House’s Intention to File Lawsuit to Block the President's Transfer of Funds for His Ineffective, Wasteful Wall

Contact: Speaker's Press Office, 202-226-7616

Washington, D.C. — Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued this statement announcing that the Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group has voted to authorize a lawsuit challenging the President's decision to transfer funds from appropriated accounts for his border wall, which violates the Appropriations Clause of the Constitution:

"The President's sham emergency declaration and unlawful transfers of funds have undermined our democracy, contravening the vote of the bipartisan Congress, the will of the American people and the letter of the Constitution.

"The President's action clearly violates the Appropriations Clause by stealing from appropriated funds, an action that was not authorized by constitutional or statutory authority. Congress, as Article I – the first branch, co-equal to the other branches – must reassert its exclusive responsibilities reserved by the text of the Constitution and protect our system of checks and balances.

"The House will once again defend our Democracy and our Constitution, this time in the courts. No one is above the law or the Constitution, not even the President."

# # #