- The Washington Times - Sunday, February 17, 2019

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra on Sunday said he “definitely and imminently” plans to file a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s recent move to declare an emergency on the southern border.

“We are prepared, we knew something like this might happen,” Mr. Becerra said on ABC’s “This Week.” “And with our sister state partners, we are ready to go.”

Mr. Becerra told ABC that New Mexico, Oregon, Hawaii, and Minnesota will be part of the lawsuit.

Mr. Becerra, along with other Democrats, has pointed to Mr. Trump’s own words in the Rose Garden on Friday as evidence that there is not an actual state of emergency on the border.

“I didn’t need to do this, but I’d rather do it faster,” the president said.

Mr. Becerra said in contrast to past emergency declarations, there aren’t “national interests” at stake, pointing to comparatively low levels of people trying to illegally cross the border.

“He has also said he knows he’s going to lose in court and he’s hoping that he can count on a conservative court in the Supreme Court to give him a victory because he knows he’s going to lose all the way up the ladder,” Mr. Becerra said of the president.

Many others have also threatened to file lawsuits over the president’s move, and several landowners in Texas have already done so.

• David Sherfinski can be reached at dsherfinski@washingtontimes.com.

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