Materials targeted to build a wall along the southern U.S. border that were being auctioned by the federal government have been removed from the auction website, the Washington Examiner reported Friday.
Republican Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wrote in a post Wednesday on X that Texas was made aware of the materials being scheduled for auction in Arizona on Dec. 12, which was the same day the Daily Wire reported on the sale. The next day, Patrick said Texas tried to find the border wall materials on the auction site GovPlanet, but those items were unavailable.
The original listings by GovPlanet showed the starting bids at $5 for a Dec. 18 auction. The listings have since been taken off the website.
“Texas sent a representative to Arizona, and the auctioneers told him they pulled the wall panels from being auctioned off today at the direction of the U.S. Government,” Patrick wrote. “They also told us that if these thousands of panels go up for auction, Texas will be notified first. Governor [Greg] Abbott and I stand ready to buy them if they do.”
Patrick wrote it was another victory for President-elect Donald Trump, “and he’s not even in office yet.”
On Thursday, Trump filed an amicus brief in support of an injunction to stop the Biden administration from selling the materials, as well as an investigation into the legality of the sale. Trump said earlier this week that it’s “almost a criminal act” what is being done in the weeks before he’s set to return to the White House, according to the Examiner.
The plan for the unused material was determined in 2023, when Congress passed the annual National Defense Authorization Act for the 2024 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30. Republican lawmakers added a section directing federal officials to submit a plan to Congress on how to dispose of excess border wall materials, according to the Texas Tribune.
The Department of Defense submitted its plan in March, allowing the transfer of materials to Customs and Border Protection and to states, with a preference for southwest border projects. Congress required that any materials received by states be used to maintain current border barriers. Customs and Border Protection, Texas and California received more than 60% of the material through a “reutilization, transfer, and donation process,” the Tribune reported, citing the Department of Homeland Security.
About 452 miles of the border wall was built on the 1,951-mile-long southern border with Mexico during Trump’s first term, according to the Examiner. Only 80 miles of that, however, was a new barrier where none had been beforehand. The majority replaced existing structures built by previous administrations.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.