Judge Permits White House to Buy Land With Border Wall Money

The Biden administration can spend $1.4 billion earmarked for building a border wall to acquire land for the project, a Trump-appointed federal judge ruled Thursday.

The clarification from Southern District of Texas Judge Drew Tipton came over objections from Texas and Missouri. The states argue that the money appropriated by Congress is for the limited purpose of building the wall, and that land acquisitions should be covered by other streams—like the $18 billion recently set out for US Customs and Border Protection in the omnibus spending bill.

At an afternoon virtual hearing to decide which projects can and can’t be ...