California and six states sue over $810 million in funds

California and six other states sued the Trump administration over its effort to withhold about $810 million in federal funds approved by Congress, asking a federal court to block the move. The lawsuit, filed Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, challenges the administration’s use of a pocket rescission shortly before the federal fiscal year ended on September 30. California Attorney General Rob Bonta is leading the case, joined by Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico and Oregon. The states argue that withholding the money violates constitutional limits on executive spending and Congress’s authority over appropriations. They are asking the court to declare the action unlawful, stop its implementation and require the funds to be properly disbursed. A pocket rescission is a request to Congress to cancel appropriated funds made so near the end of a fiscal year that the money may expire before lawmakers can act. The administration announced its proposed cancellation shortly before the September 30 deadline.