Washington, February 19 (RHC)-- U.S. President Donald Trump is facing mounting legal and political challenges after he declared a national emergency in an attempt to circumvent Congress and build a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. 

In addition to the nearly $1.4 billion of border barrier funding contained in the newly passed spending bill, Trump plans to divert federal funds from the military and Treasury Department budgets, ballooning the overall cost for the border wall to $8 billion, far more than the $5.7 billion Trump previously argued for.

Trump also said he expects to be sued over the move, but believes he will ultimately prevail at the Supreme Court, citing his Muslim travel ban as a precedent for such a legal path.  California, along with 16 other states including Minnesota, Oregon, New Mexico and Hawaii, is planning legal action challenging Trump’s emergency declaration.

House Democrats say they will pass a resolution disapproving the declaration, while the White House has indicated that Trump will veto any congressional efforts to block his plan.

Legal groups, including the ACLU and Public Citizen, are also planning to challenge the emergency declaration in the courts.  Hundreds of protests are being planned across the United States to demonstrate against Trump's decision.