On Thursday, October 5, the Biden Administration approved the construction of a section of the border wall in Texas whose budget had already been approved in 2019. However, in the days prior to the approval, the Democratic government itself was selling material intended for the border fence, achieving profits that exceeded half a million dollars if the lots sold in recent weeks are counted, according to a Newsweek report.
The media outlet reported that it found the discrepancy in listings on GovPlanet , an auction site for state, local and federal agencies to advertise surplus inventory.
According to Newsweek, the site shows that the Biden Administration has “ been selling off lots of square iron and steel wall tubing for tens of thousands of dollars as recently as Wednesday.”
Approval from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the construction of the new 20-mile stretch of border wall in the Rio Grande Valley area came Thursday.
According to the report, there are still batches of material available on GovPlanet, which will end by the second half of October. The Biden Administration, whose rhetoric on the border wall has been unclear in recent weeks, excused itself from criticism by arguing that construction of the border fence was only approved to meet the budget.
Meanwhile, Republicans are questioning the federal government for wasting taxpayer money amid an unprecedented border crisis.
In this month of October alone, the Biden Administration achieved profits of $115,910 dollars by auctioning the metal fence tubes. Meanwhile, in September the government recovered up to $455,100 from numerous lots of materials that caught the attention of auctioneers.
When it was first discovered that the Biden Administration was selling material that should be used for the border wall, between the months of August and September, Republicans raised their concerns against the Government.
“The Biden administration's decision to sell already purchased border materials is waste and abuse of taxpayer dollars,” House Committee on Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer said on Sept. 12. “We should be using tools already at our disposal to stop the surge of illegal border crossings. When someone is repeatedly breaking into your home, you don't sell the locks on the door.”
