Groups Amend Case Against President Trump, Say Monument Reduction Unconstitutional

Mealey's (December 6, 2019, 9:41 AM EST) -- WASHINGTON, D.C. — Environmental advocacy groups on Nov. 7 filed two separate amended complaints in District of Columbia federal court, each contending that President Donald J. Trump’s executive order that reduced the size of the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (GSNM), which the groups say was partly motivated by a desire to access land for hydraulic fracturing, is “an unconstitutional and ultra vires exercise of a power committed to Congress and not delegated to the Executive Branch.”  The complaints were amended to include the declarations of numerous residents affected by the reduction of the monuments (The Wilderness Society, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 17-2587, Grand Staircase Escalante Partners, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 17-2591, D. D.C. [consolidated])....