The Biden administration has agreed to a court order preventing it from selling off rusting pieces of border wall material that the outgoing president has refused to install, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton revealed Friday.
“We have successfully blocked the Biden Administration from disposing of any further border wall materials before President Trump takes office,” Paxton said in a statement.
“This follows our major victory forcing Biden to build the wall, and we will hold his Administration accountable for illegally subverting our Nation’s border security until their very last day in power, especially where their actions are clearly motivated by a desire to thwart President-elect Trump’s immigration agenda,” he added.
Paxton and Trump both requested a hearing in the Southern District of Texas federal court earlier this month after an explosive report alleged that unused slats intended for parts of the southern border wall were being secretly hauled away and auctioned off for as low as $5.
The court order will bar the Biden administration from disposing of any further border wall materials over the next 30 days and is enforceable if violations occur, the Texas attorney general’s office said.
The Biden administration will also be required to provide Texas documentation that it has not violated May 2024 court ruling requiring it to spend statutorily obligated funds on border wall construction.
“If it is shown that the Biden Administration disposed of border wall materials purchased with funds subject to that injunction in violation of a court order — or that the Department of Justice made misrepresentations regarding the border materials that have been auctioned off — this would constitute unethical and sanctionable conduct, and the responsible parties could be held in contempt of court,” the Texas AG’s office said.
The Daily Wire obtained alarming footage earlier this month showing several flatbed trucks hauling away sections of the steel wall near Tucson, Ariz. — a hotspot for illegal crossings.
The footage was recorded by a Border Patrol, who estimated that a half-mile’s worth of parts are being removed daily with the goal of clearing it all out “by Christmas.”
The materials were reportedly being sold through GovPlanet, an online auction house specializing in military surplus, and listed as “Steel Bollard Wall Sections w/Grout.”
The materials were left unused following President Biden’s decision to stop the wall’s construction and roll back Trump’s immigration policies upon taking office in 2021.
Last week, Trump accused Biden of committing an “almost criminal act” by selling off parts of the border wall.
“I’m asking today, Joe Biden to please stop selling the wall,” the president-elect declared at a Mar-a-Lago press conference. “We’re going to use that to create a strong barrier.
“It’s very expensive, and now it’s about double the price of what it would have been six years ago, and the administration is trying to sell it for five cents on the dollar, knowing that we’re getting ready to put it up,” he added.
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