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Texas officials say they are preparing to buy and store border wall materials that the federal government is auctioning off and keep them in place until the Trump administration takes office in January.
Texas Lt. Governor Dan Patrick reacted to reports of continued auctions of border wall materials left near the border after border wall construction suddenly stopped in 2021.
“I’ll bid on that whole wall, we’ll buy it in Texas and give it to Donald Trump,” Patrick said on “The Ingraham Angle.”
“I have a billion dollars in my pocket to do it,” he said.
‘LEGAL AUTHORITY’: SENATE RESIDENTS DEMAND BID THAT EXTENDS PROTECTIONS FOR ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS AHEAD OF THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION
Then-former President Donald Trump delivers a speech during a campaign rally at the Cobb Energy Performing Arts Center on October 15, 2024 in Atlanta. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
His 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 “shameful.”
The Biden administration abruptly ended border wall construction 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 said a wall project is xenophobic and ineffective.
HOUSE OVERSIGHT REPUBLICANS INVESTIGATING BIDEN ADMIN’S SALE OF BORDER WALL PARTS: ‘WASTE AND ABUSE’
This still image from a video shows the construction of the border wall in Del Rio, Texas. (Office of Governor Greg Abbott.)
The auction for border wall pieces began in 2023 and the pieces were put up for sale on GovPlanet.com, an online auction marketplace. The Defense Department’s logistics agency told media that the surplus material had been turned over to the Army Corps of Engineers for disposal and was now for sale.
Those auctions have continued, with Arizona officials telling Fox News Digital that auctions have been held weekly for some time. The practice drew attention last week when The Daily Wire published a video showing unused wall parts 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. On Monday he called the sale of the wall “an almost criminal act” and called on the administration to stop the sale of the wall pieces.
A defense official told Fox News that the Pentagon has been eliminating excess wall construction in accordance with the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2024, which required the Secretary of Defense to submit a plan to use, transfer or donate all remaining wall material purchased with Pentagon funds. . That plan was presented in March.
The official said preference for materials was given to border states, including Texas. Both Texas and California requested and received border materials, they said.
“Through our reuse, transfer and donation process, nearly 60% of those materials were transferred to authorized recipients, including U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the states of Texas and California,” the official said. “The remaining 40% was sold to GOVPLANET under a competitive sales contract process that began in June 2024. Material currently sold through GOVPLANET’s online auctions is no longer owned by the U.S. government and “The Department of Defense has no legal authority to remove the material or stop it from further reselling material it no longer owns.”
CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE OF THE BORDER SECURITY CRISIS
Texas has already shown that it is willing to assist the incoming administration in its efforts to secure the border and engage in a mass deportation campaign.
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Fox News Digital first reported last month that Texas had offered 1,400 acres of land to the incoming administration to carry out its mass deportation operation. Border czar Thomas Homan said he is already planning how to use the land effectively.
Fox News’ Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.
