The Biden administration announced Friday it would halt the sale of materials slated to be used to build a border wall, ahead of the inauguration of the incoming Trump administration, which has promised to reinstate tougher measures to combat illegal immigration.
The Biden administration has agreed to a court order barring further disposal of border wall materials for the next 30 days, allowing President-elect Trump to use those materials, according to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. This was confirmed to the court.
After abruptly halting most border wall construction in 2021, the Biden administration has been auctioning off parts of the border wall since at least 2023, with pieces on the auction market.
Republican senators move to block federal authorities from scrapping border wall materials amid auction backlash
A pile of unused border fence sits at one of the border wall construction preparation areas on Monday, April 12, 2021, at the Johnson Ranch near Columbus, New Mexico. (Photo by Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, Getty Images)
President-elect Donald Trump then asked the Biden administration to cancel it. FOX News Digital has reached out to a representative for President Trump.
“We were successful in preventing the Biden administration from disposing of any further border wall material before President Trump took office,” Paxton said.
“This follows our huge victory in forcing Biden to build a wall and will continue to protect our country until the final days of his administration, especially when their actions are clearly motivated by a desire to stop the next president.” “We will hold the Biden administration accountable for illegally destroying border security in the United States over President Trump’s immigration policies.”
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks during a press conference in Dallas, June 22, 2017. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez, File)
Paxton’s office said in a news release that if the Biden administration disposes of border wall materials purchased with injunctive funds in violation of a court order, “it would constitute unethical and sanctionable conduct. “The officials could be held in contempt of court.” ”
Texas says it will do everything in its power to help the incoming administration build a wall on its southern border in time for President Trump’s inauguration.
The Biden administration abruptly halted construction of 450 miles of border wall in January 2021, which had been built during the first Trump administration. Border hawks say the wall is an important tool to deter illegal immigration, while some Democrats say the wall project is xenophobic and ineffective.
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President Donald Trump inspects a portion of the border wall in San Luis, Arizona, Tuesday, June 23, 2020. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Auctions for parts of the border wall began in 2023, with parts listed on GovPlanet.com, an online auction marketplace. The Pentagon’s Logistics Agency told media that the surplus supplies were turned over for disposal by the Army Corps of Engineers and are now being sold.
These auctions continue, and Arizona officials told FOX News Digital that they have been occurring weekly for some time. The practice continued last week when the Daily Wire published a video showing unused wall parts being transported by flatbed truck in Arizona, raising concerns that the material could be used by the incoming Trump administration. Regardless, it attracted attention.
President Trump previously called Biden’s efforts to sell unused border wall material at a discount “almost criminal.”
President Trump said the auction would cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars to repurchase large steel bollards and concrete. He called on President Biden to “stop selling the wall” and suggested his team might seek a restraining order to stop the sale.
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“What they’re doing is really an act, almost a criminal act,” he said. “They know we’re going to use it, and if we don’t have it, we’re going to have to rebuild it, which is twice as much as it cost a few years ago. , and that’s going to cost hundreds of millions of dollars. We’re talking about a lot of walls.”
Fox News Digital’s Adam Shaw, Brooke Singman and Peter Pined contributed to this report.
