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Bowing to the concerns of border states and environmental groups, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled the Trump administration had illegally sidestepped Congress to divert $2.5 billion from military construction projects to build the border wall with Mexico.

In its ruling the Court said not only did the Trump administration lack the authority to authorize the transfer of funds, “but also violated an express constitutional prohibition designed to protect individual liberties.

Per The New York Post, the panel said the government was proceeding with border wall construction without ensuring compliance with any environmental regulations, thereby harming the interests of Sierra Club members who visit the border region for hiking, bird watching and other recreational activities.

The panel also held that the government failed to show that construction would halt the flow of illegal drugs. It said the administration had cited drug statistics but didn’t address how the wall would have an impact on the problem.

Because no one seems to understand how walls actually function.

In an unrelated story, the CNN Center in Atlanta put up metal fencing after their building was attacked during violent protests last month. No word on whether it impacted bird watching.

But we digress.

It’s unclear if the Ninth Circuit’s ruling will have any impact on the administration’s continued efforts to build the wall, as the Supreme Court has overturned many of the court’s rulings.

Per The New York Post, the administration has already awarded much of the money, including a $1.3-billion job in Arizona that was announced last month. Trump visited Yuma, Arizona, on Tuesday to mark completion of the 200th mile of border wall during his administration, much of it with the transferred military funds that the 9th Circuit panel found illegal.

After the $2.5 billion transfer of military funds, the Pentagon diverted another $3.6 billion that an appeals court in New Orleans ruled in January could be spent.

The Ninth Circuit (called by some the Ninth Circus) has a history of liberal/anti-Trump rulings such as disallowing an end to federal funding for “sanctuary cities,” blocking the proposed travel ban, blocking the prohibition on transgender service members in the military, blocking efforts to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration program, ruling against the phrase “under God” in the Pledge of Allegiance and the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy regarding gay people serving in the military.

With 29 circuit judges currently serving the court has ballooned in size. From its establishment in 1891, the jurisdiction of the Ninth Circuit has grown dramatically as population has grown in the states it oversees (Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon and Washington) – plus Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Some critics think it’s time to break up the court, because it’s become too large and powerful. Of the 29 judges currently serving, Trump has appointed 10.

Apparently not enough to get things ruling in his favor.