Madison (US), Jul 25 (AP) Wisconsin is dropping out of two multistate lawsuits that challenged former President Donald Trump's decision to divert billions of dollars to fund a wall across the southern US border.

Lawmakers in Wisconsin granted the state Justice Department permission to exit the lawsuits on Tuesday.

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Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul, a Democrat, had jointed other states in federal lawsuits in 2019 and 2020 challenging the use of USD 6.7 billion meant for National Guard units, military construction projects and police for wall construction.

The move included shifting USD 8 million that had been intended to build a Wisconsin National Guard firing range.

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The 9th Circuit US Court of Appeals ruled in favour of the states, prompting the federal government to ask the US Supreme Court to review the cases. President Joe Biden issued an executive order in 2021 halting wall construction using the money in question, rendering the challenges moot. Settlement negotiations ensued, and all the states except Wisconsin chose to drop their claims.

The federal government has since restored the money for the Wisconsin firing range, according to the Legislature's attorneys and the state Justice Department.

Justice Department officials asked the Legislature's finance committee to allow them to drop their challenge. The committee voted unanimously without any debate to grant permission during a meeting Tuesday.

Republican legislators passed a law in 2018 that requires the Justice Department to secure permission from the finance committee before settling lawsuits. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)