Republicans are angry at President Joe Biden after it was recently revealed that his administration is selling off the parts of Donald Trump’s failed border wall.
A group of Republican senators have sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, demanding that the sale be stopped. “We are deeply disappointed to learn that rather than using construction materials that were purchased to secure the southwest border for that purpose, the Department of Defense has begun auctioning these materials off for other purposes,” the letter says.
The letter was sent by members of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, who are serving in the minority after the party failed to create a “red wave” in the 2022 midterm election.
The Department of Defense is selling off lots described as “square structural tubes” on an auction site called Gov Planet.
Trump began his push for the wall during his 2016 presidential campaign, making an appeal to anti-immigrant sentiment. The push for the wall followed years of Fox News Channel airing footage of immigrants crossing the border from Mexico into the United States. Trump paired his call for the wall with racist attacks on immigrants, even describing them as murderers and rapists when he launched his campaign.
Immigration experts have repeatedly explained that a wall would be largely useless in stopping migrants, and that comprehensive immigration reform would be a superior solution to the problem. Republicans in Congress have repeatedly blocked efforts at reform.
After he defeated Trump in the 2020 election and was sworn in as president, Biden ceased construction of the border wall.
One of the first political bloggers in the world, Oliver Willis has operated OliverWillis.com since 2000. Contributor at Media Matters for America and The American Independent. Follow on Twitter at @owillis. Full bio.