Federal Judge Says US Can’t Sell Off Border Wall Building Materials
A federal judge in Texas ruled in a virtual hearing Dec. 27 that U.S.-Mexico border wall materials, including steel bollards, structural tubes, concrete and fencing bought during the first Trump administration cannot be sold by federal agencies before President-Elect Donald Trump retakes office on Jan. 20.
The Biden administration had said in 2023 it would continue border wall construction in Texas on federal land using funds that had been earmarked for it from as far back as 2020 because they could not legally be used for any other purpose.
However, no new work other than placement of temporary barriers has happened since then, and some leftover materials have appeared on auction firm Ritchie Bros.’ government surplus website GovPlanet.com. The U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security said it will abide by the order, which bans the administration from selling or giving away the border wall materials until Jan. 27, 2025. But many of the GovPlanet materials listings have already disappeared from the auction site.
Judge Drew Tipton, based in McAllen, Texas, also ordered the Biden administration to turn over purchasing records accounting for $1.4 billion that Congress allocated to build the wall on the Mexico border. He said the records will help track materials that Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton alleged the federal government auctioned in violation of a May court order requiring the funds be spent on wall construction.
Tipton, an appointee of President Trump, had asked for the accounting of the materials to determine if any had been unlawfully disposed of or sold in the last year. An attorney for the U.S. Justice Dept. asserted at the hearing that the Items sold came from funds outside of that court order.
“We have successfully blocked the Biden Administration from disposing of any further border wall materials” before Trump takes office, Paxton said in a statement.
Trump, whose personal attorneys were a party to the lawsuit that led to the hearing, also noted the ruling on social media, adding that the case had been joined by Missouri.
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