This is awesome news!
A U.S. district judge who Donald J. Trump dissed as “a Mexican” has been given the authority to preside over a case involving the wall that the president wants to build across our nation’s southern border.
I cannot think of anything cooler than this — politically speaking, that is.
Judge Gonzalo Curiel will decide the merits of a case that questions whether the federal government can circumvent environmental laws to build the wall.
The Trump administration says it can; plaintiffs have filed suit saying that the administration would violate the law.
The irony of this just drips with richness. Trump disparaged the Indiana-born Judge Curiel during the 2016 presidential campaign, calling him “a Mexican,” alleging that he couldn’t judge another case involving Trump University fairly and impartially. Curiel is of Mexican heritage. However, he is as American as Trump, or me, or you, or anyone whose ancestors came to this country from somewhere else. I believe that constitutes the vast majority of U.S. citizens.
According to The Huffington Post:Ā
The case consolidates three lawsuits filed last year by the state of California, environmental groups and Rep. RaĆŗl Grijalva (D-Ariz.). The suits challenge the waivers granted by Congress in 1996 and 2005 allowing the federal government to bypass certain federal and state laws, including environmental regulations, for border security reasons.
The suits claim the waivers are outdated and should not apply to Trumpās border wall plan. California said the construction of the wall could do āirreparable harmā to the stateās wildlife. Legal experts say the groups that have brought the lawsuits will bear a significant legal burden to prove their case.
Curiel gets to decide who’s right. Isn’t that just outstanding?
I cannot to hear the blowback if Curiel rules against the administration. Nor can I await the reaction if the judge rules in the president’s favor.
As one who believes that judicial matters should be decided according to what the law allows — and if they follow the U.S. Constitution — I will have faith that Judge Curiel will interpret the law fairly.
Also, as one who doesn’t favor construction of the wall, I will accept whatever decision the judge delivers, even if it disagrees with personal political beliefs.
I would hope the president could do the same thing if the ruling goes against him.
He won’t.