Judge rejects government shutdown delay in border wall lawsuit

• Federal magistrate denies delay of lawsuit on border wall construction • Magistrate cites ongoing construction despite government shutdown • Magistrate sets Nov. 14 deadline for legal briefs on lawsuit’s merits

A federal magistrate is no longer accepting the excuse that the federal government shutdown should delay a lawsuit to stop construction of new walls along the southern border.

James Marner acknowledged he had granted an earlier request by attorneys for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to put off the challenge by the Center for Biological Diversity. He said at the time that he had to respect her arguments that lawyers from the Department of Justice, which is representing Noem, are legally prohibited from working while they are not being paid.

But Marner said none of t