Appeals Court Rejects Trump’s Diversion of Military Funds for Border Wall

A department spokesman, Alexei Woltornist, said on Friday that it was “sorely disappointed in this decision.”

The administration is facing a separate legal challenge to the similar transfer of $3.6 billion from Pentagon construction funds to build the border wall. The White House celebrated a win in that case in January when the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans lifted a lower-court ruling to allow the administration to use the military funds.

Despite the court challenges, the administration has continued to tap the Defense Department for wall funds as Mr. Trump tries to turn political attention to the border to help his struggling re-election campaign. The administration notified Congress this year that it would take another $3.8 billion from the Defense Department for the wall, almost exactly a year after Mr. Trump used a national emergency declaration to initially circumvent Congress for his barriers.

“The funds that he is pilfering, which were appropriated by Congress, are vital to support the safety and well-being of the brave men and women in uniform, as well as their families,” Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said in a statement on Friday. “We will never allow our national security and the strength of our military families to suffer so that the president can fulfill an outrageous campaign promise.”

With about $15 billion of available wall funding, the administration has completed construction of 216 miles of new border wall. All but three of the miles of wall have replaced much shorter, dilapidated fencing or Normandy barriers.

“It’s the most powerful and comprehensive border wall structure anywhere in the world,” Mr. Trump said this week even as Customs and Border Protection has requested ideas from the private sector on how to prevent people from climbing over the wall or cutting through it.

The White House is aggressively trying to meet a mandate set by Mr. Trump to complete 450 miles by the end of the year, regardless of the tribal lands, archaeological sites, contracting laws and private owners that stand in the way.