SAN DIEGO — The federal judge whom President Trump characterized during his campaign as “a Mexican” and therefore biased against him said he would announce a ruling next week that could determine whether the government can proceed with its expedited plans to build a border wall.

District Judge Gonzalo P. Curiel is presiding over a lawsuit filed by advocacy groups and the state of California challenging the Department of Homeland Security’s plans to bypass standard environmental-impact studies and rapidly expand barriers along the Mexican border.

Curiel said Friday that DHS has yet to explain why it must proceed so urgently in its construction plans.

“By waving environmental protections, we are ignoring something that has been very important to Congress for the past 40, 50 years,” the judge told government attorneys. He asked them to provide more information by Tuesday and said he would issue his ruling soon after.

Galen N. Thorp, a government attorney representing the Department of Homeland Security, said DHS’s plans were consistent with congressional authorizations.

“This case is about plaintiffs’ opposition to Congress’s decision that border infrastructure can, in certain circumstances, be a higher priority” than environmental laws, Thorp said.

Plaintiffs in the suit argue that environmental waivers granted by Congress a decade ago involving matters of crucial border security cannot be applied to future wall construction. A ruling against DHS would likely delay the Trump administration’s plans to move rapidly if Congress provides billions in funding for the wall.

The plaintiffs said they are not challenging the government’s right to replace or maintain existing barriers, only “the projects they want to do now,” said Michael Cayaban, an attorney for the state of California.

Curiel was the judge in an unrelated class-action lawsuit against the president’s now-defunct Trump University, and the judge’s alleged bias against Trump became a running theme during his presidential campaign.

At a rally here in May 2016 that triggered protests, Trump blasted Curiel as “a hater of Donald Trump,” then continued to lash out after the judge ordered the release of internal Trump University documents related to the suit requested by The Washington Post.

Trump told supporters at the time that Curiel harbored a bias against the candidate’s plans for a border wall because the judge was “Spanish” and “a Mexican.”

Curiel’s parents were immigrants from Mexico. He was born in Indiana.

“Look, he’s proud of his heritage, okay?” Trump said of Curiel in a June 2016 interview with CNN. “He’s a Mexican. We’re building a wall between here and Mexico.”

Trump’s remarks were widely condemned at the time, but Curiel did not respond publicly. Trump agreed to pay $25 million to settle the fraud claims in March, soon after moving into the White House.

[The judge Trump disparaged as ‘Mexican’ will preside over border wall case]

Brian Segee, the lead attorney for the Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity, a plaintiff in the suit, said his group is challenging DHS’s attempt to bypass standard procedure.

“Did Congress intend, as we argue, to limit the unprecedented and sweeping authority of the DHS secretary to do away with laws at will?” Segee said in an interview Friday. “Was that limited to specific fencing projects that have already been completed? Or was it perpetual authority that can be invoked now, or 10 years or 20 years from now?”

Trump is seeking $25 billion for enhanced border security, including hundreds of miles of new barrier construction. About one-third of the 2,000-mile border with Mexico has some form of wall or fencing, and the president’s proposal would extend the structure by about 300 miles, while replacing another 400 miles with more formidable barriers.

DHS is evaluating eight wall prototypes that are on exhibit outside San Diego, and each one is taller and more elaborate than almost anything currently in place.

[A look at Trump’s border wall prototypes]

Environmental groups suing the government say additional barriers will harm wildlife by cutting off their natural migration routes or access to the waters of the Rio Grande.

Stretching from the southern Rockies to the Gulf of Mexico, the river spans nearly two-thirds of the U.S.-Mexico boundary, passing through arid mountain regions and deserts where it is a vital water source for farmers, ranchers and wildlife. Large fauna cross the border in other remote areas where the international boundary is little more than a line on a map.

“The wall could preclude the movement of endangered species or other animals, like the jaguar, that move back and forth, leading to their potential extirpation in the United States,” Segee said.

New wall construction is likely to happen first on federally protected lands, including parks and wildlife sanctuaries because the government already owns the property.

The president’s wall-building blueprints also call for thousands of miles of new roadways along the border to provide access for maintenance crews and law enforcement.

Miroff reported from Washington.

Rachel L. Brand, the third-highest-ranking official at the Justice Department and the first woman to serve as associate attorney general, plans to step down, the department announced Friday — a resignation that comes at a moment of intense political scrutiny for the department, including some harsh criticism from President Trump.

Brand, 44, who has been in her Senate-confirmed position for only nine months, would have been in line to take over the supervision of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s Russia investigation if Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, the department’s No. 2 official, was fired by Trump or recused himself from the matter.

Brand is leaving the Justice Department to join Walmart as the executive vice president for global governance, the company said. Her departure was first reported by the New York Times.

The possibility of Brand being thrust into the Russia investigation has increased in recent weeks as Rosenstein has come under political attack from Republicans for supporting the renewal of a surveillance warrant on a former Trump campaign adviser.

“I think it’s a disgrace what’s happening in our country,” Trump said last week when he was asked about the release of a memo from Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee claiming abuses in the Russia investigation.

“A lot of people should be ashamed of themselves and much worse than that,” Trump said.

When Trump was asked by a reporter whether he was then more likely to fire Rosenstein and whether he had confidence in him, Trump replied, “You figure that one out.”

Trump has also publicly attacked the FBI, which is a component of the Justice Department. He has blasted Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself in the Russia investigation and turning it over to Rosenstein, who then appointed Mueller as special counsel. He said he wouldn’t have appointed Sessions if he knew he was going to recuse himself from the Russia probe.

Last summer on Twitter, Trump called Sessions “beleaguered” and “very weak,” and at a news conference in the Rose Garden said he was “disappointed in Sessions.”

[For Trump and Sessions, a warm beginning turned into an icy standoff ]

With Brand’s departure, Solicitor General Noel Francisco is next in line at the Justice Department to oversee the Russia investigation after Rosenstein.

“Rachel has shown real leadership over many important divisions at the Department,” Sessions said in a statement. “I know the entire Department of Justice will miss her, but we join together in congratulating her on this new opportunity in the private sector.”

Brand in a statement thanked Sessions for his leadership and said, “I’ve seen firsthand his commitment to the rule of law and to keeping the American people safe.”

Brand has kept a low profile at the department, but in December she wrote an op-ed in The Washington Post defending the renewal of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which permits the National Security Agency to collect foreign intelligence on U.S. soil without individualized warrants.

“To keep us safe, our intelligence agencies must be able to “connect the dots” between the various pieces of information the government already lawfully possesses,” Brand wrote. “In reauthorizing Section 702, Congress must not forget the lessons we learned from 9/11.” The law was reauthorized in January.

[Justice Department official overseeing Mueller and Russia probe under increasing pressure]

Last week, Brand headed up an all-day summit on human trafficking at the department, where she told a packed room that “combating this evil is one of our top priorities at the Justice Department.” She also introduced Sessions, who in turn praised Brand for her “strong leadership as our third in command at the department.”

The news that Brand is leaving came as a surprise to many people who know her. The Federalist Society just announced Friday that Brand is scheduled to speak next week at a Washington chapter lunch.

The daughter and granddaughter of Dutch dairy farmers in Iowa, Brand has been praised for her deep knowledge of the Justice Department. She was previously President George W. Bush’s assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Policy, which develops and implements the department’s significant policy initiatives.

[Rachel Brand takes over No. 3 position at Justice Department]

Brand has one of the department’s more politically challenging jobs, managing the lawyers who litigate civil issues, including Trump’s travel ban as well as civil rights, environmental and antitrust cases.

Shane Harris, Ellen Nakashima and Matt Zapotosky contributed to this report.