Senate Republicans demand Biden halt sale of border wall parts
Republicans on the Senate Armed Services Committee are demanding the Biden administration cease auctioning off unused border wall components.
“We are deeply disappointed to learn that rather than using construction materials that were purchased to secure the southwest border for that purpose, the Department of Defense has begun auctioning these materials off for other purposes,” Republicans on the panel wrote to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin in a letter dated for Tuesday.
Republicans on the panel led by Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) stressed that the move ran afoul of the Finish It Act, featured in the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024 demanding that the administration either use the materials for their original purpose or give them to border states.
The GOP group stressed that the move ran afoul of the Finish It Act, featured in the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024 demanding that the administration either use the materials for their original purpose or give them to border states.
Last week, The Post reported that the administration was auctioning off material for the wall acquired under former President Donald Trump.
This included the auctioning off of 81 lots of steel “square structural tubes” for border barriers for about $2 million since April.
There were 13 additional lots set to be auctioned on Aug. 23 and Aug. 30.
Republicans on the panel demanded Austin halt those planned auctions to immediately investigate the matter, provide a full accounting of the border wall material disposed of and provide details about how much the department has paid for storage.
Austin has a Sept. 5 deadline to comply with their requests for information, and they expect him to cease planned auctions and investigate the matter immediately.
They further noted that they will “not consent” to a confirmation hearing for the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy until they receive an adequate response.
All 12 Republican members on the panel signed the letter.
“The Biden administration canceled border wall projects and left materials to rack up dust,” signer Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), said in a statement to The Post.
“As I have worked to hold him accountable for wasting taxpayer-funded parts and use them to actually secure our border — President Biden is shamelessly auctioning them off for pennies on the dollar!” she added.
“This is a clear signal he does not take border security seriously. President Biden cannot get away with subverting Congress’ work on this.”
As much as $300 million worth of border wall components have been left to rust since Biden ascended to the White House, Republicans have claimed.
Meanwhile, US Customs and Border Protection recorded a record-breaking 2.4 million encounters at the border in fiscal year 2022.
So far, there have been 1.97 million encounters at the border for fiscal year 2023, which ends at the beginning of October.
