in june 2019, u.s. district judge trevor n. mcfadden denied a request by the u.s. house of representatives to temporarily block spending on the wall. the house claimed in its lawsuit that the trump administration was overstepping its authority, and sought to prevent it from spending over a billion dollars it had already transferred from military pay and pension accounts, and more funds from an emergency military construction fund that had not yet been transferred. mcfadden, a trump appointee, said the house had no legal standing to sue the president and that therefore the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the claim. mcfadden issued no opinion on the merits of the case, saying "the court declines to take sides in this fight between the house and the president."