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Officials in Texas say they are preparing to buy and store the border wall materials the federal government is auctioning off and keep them in place until the Trump administration takes office in January.
Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick reacted to reports of continued auctions of border wall materials that have been left near the border following the sudden halt to construction of the border wall in 2021.
“I’m going to bid on this whole wall, we’re going to buy it in Texas and give it to Donald Trump,” Patrick said on “The Ingraham Angle.”
“I’ve got a billion dollars in my pocket to do it,” he said.
Then-former President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a campaign rally at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center on Oct. 15, 2024, in Atlanta. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Her comments were supported by Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, who said she is “fully prepared” to help in the effort.
“If you buy it, I have a place to store it, on state land! The (Texas General Land Office) is ready to help!” he said, calling the Biden administration’s auction of border wall materials “disgraceful.”
The Biden administration ended abruptly construction of the border wall in January 2021 after 450 miles had been built in the first Trump administration. While border hawks say a wall is a critical tool to stop illegal immigration, some Democrats have called a wall project xenophobic and ineffective.
This video still image shows the construction of the border wall in Del Rio, Texas. (Office of Governor Greg Abbott.)
The auction of parts of the border wall began in 2023 with pieces going up for sale on GovPlanet.com, an online auction marketplace. The Defense Department’s logistics agency told the media that the excess material had been delivered by the Army Corps of Engineers and was now for sale.
Those auctions have continued, with Arizona officials telling Fox News Digital that the auctions have been happening weekly for some time. The practice drew attention last week when The Daily Wire published a video showing unused wall pieces being transported on flatbed trucks in Arizona, even though the materials could be used in the next Trump administration.
President-elect Donald Trump has promised to restart construction of the border wall when he takes office next month. He called the sale of the wall “almost a criminal act” on Monday and called on the administration to stop selling the pieces of the wall.
A defense official told Fox News that the Pentagon has been eliminating excess wall construction under the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2024, which required the defense secretary to submit a plan to use, transfer, or donate all remaining wall material purchased with Pentagon funds. . This plan was presented in March.
The official said border states, including Texas, had preference for the materials. Both Texas and California requested and received border materials, they said.
“Through our reuse, transfer and donation process, nearly 60 percent of these materials were transferred to authorized recipients, including US Customs and Border Protection and the states of Texas and California,” the official said. “The remaining 40% was sold to GOVPLANET through a competitive sales contract process beginning in June 2024. The material currently being sold through GOVPLANET’s online auctions no longer belongs to the US Government and DoD has no legal authority to recover the material or stop any further resale of material it no longer has.”
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Texas has already shown that it is willing to help the administration by entering into its efforts to secure the border and participate in one mass deportation campaign.
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Fox News Digital first reported last month that Texas has offered the incoming administration 1,400 acres of land on which to stage its mass deportation operation. Border Czar Thomas Homan he said he is already planning how to use the land effectively.
Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.
