President-elect Donald Trump on Monday called on President Biden to stop his administration from selling off parts of the southern border wall and cutting off the outgoing commander-in-chief for “near-criminal conduct.”
“Today I'm asking Joe Biden to stop selling us a wall. We're going to use it to build a strong barrier,” Trump told reporters at Mar-a-Lago. said in a statement.
“It is very expensive, now about double the price it was six years ago. “They're trying to sell it for a dollar amount,” Trump continued.
The Daily Wire reported last week that the Biden administration is selling unused portions of the southern border wall, with trucks delivering slabs of border wall south of Tucson, Arizona, where many immigrants are entering the country illegally. A video footage of the departure was posted.
“They are making raids from three stations: Nogales, Tucson and Three Points,” a Border Patrol agent told the outlet. “The goal is to have everything moved out of the border by Christmas.”
Parts of the wall are also for sale on GovPlanet, an online auction company specializing in munitions, with bids starting at just $5. The newspaper previously reported that auctions for the border sections have been underway since at least April.
“They know we're going to use it. If we don't have it, we'll have to rebuild it and the cost is 20% of what it cost a few years ago. That's double that, hundreds of millions of dollars,” Trump said of the alarming move.
The president-elect criticized the Biden administration for not participating in a “smooth transition of power” in such an unprecedented move and vowed, “We cannot let this happen.”
“I spoke with the Texas attorney general. [Ken Paxton]spoke with Texas senators. I've talked to a lot of people and I hope they stop,” he said, noting that a “restraint order” would be mandatory.
“This is simply people who don't want this country to succeed, and it has nothing to do with Democrats or Republicans. This has everything to do with common sense,” Trump continued. “We won based on common sense. This is probably one of the most egregious examples I've seen.”
Biden issued an executive order halting border wall construction on his first day in office, but later changed his tune and waived environmental reviews for some sections in Texas.
Congressional Republicans have warned about the political nature of the Biden administration's sale of portions of the border wall, with Rep. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) telling the Daily Wire, “If that's true, it's not their intent. In other words, he is holding back the next president.” , it wouldn't be a shock. Why would they want to see President Trump succeed with policies they actively thwarted? ”
The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
