The border wall battle is heating up, as the Biden Administration sells materials. This appears to be defying plans by President-elect Donald Trump who asked a federal judge to “immediately stop” the sales so he could restart construction of the wall next.

John Sauer said Mr. Trump’s lawyer that Biden officials could be committing “a crime” if the materials are being sold at a discount to frustrate Mr. Trump’s plans.

Republicans on Capitol Hill also voiced their concerns, urging the administration to explain current sales as well as come clean regarding past auctions where wall materials were sold at unbelievable discounts.

They exploded in anger after a batch of new steel was put up for auction on an online site earlier this month. In his court filing, Mr. Trump claimed that some buyers had offered to resell the materials to his new administration at a huge markup.

1776 Coalition Sponsored Will you join Elon, Vivek and Me? I want gov’t to work for the people, so I joined the DOGE Caucus. Now that Deep State, Establishment & Liberal spenders have a target on me. Fortunately, I’ve got allies like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy working with me in this mission. This is LTGen Jack Bergman. Please join me in the fight to make gov’t accountable to the citizens..

Such efforts could impede, delay, or obstruct President Trump’s top priority for the next four-year period — the construction of the border wall. Mr. Sauer said in a Texas federal court.

The wall was one of the most visible campaign promises made by Mr. Trump in 2016. It became a major issue for President Biden after he won over Mr. Trump to become president in 2021.

He ordered the construction to stop on his first day and spent the next four years trying figure out a way to avoid building another wall using the money Congress already allocated. These efforts included spending money for the wall on environmental cleanup and slowing down construction.

U.S. district judge Drew B. Tipton ruled earlier this year that the Biden Administration’s efforts were unlawful and directed them to spend the money on building barriers.

The plaintiffs — states led by Republicans — asked the judge in the case to intervene now and arbitrate the sales, which Texas Attorney-General Ken Paxton compared to “acts sabotage” committed by the outgoing government.

On Friday, Mr. Trump weighed in on the issue with his legal brief. He argued that as the incoming President he now has a stake in the outcome.

Republicans are not only calling for an end to the sale, but also demanding that the Defense Department account for the materials they have already cleaned.

Bill Hagerty (a Tennessee Republican) said: “It’s unconscionable, that weeks before Trump assumes office, the Biden Administration is auctioning taxpayer-purchased border wall parts — for pennies per dollar — despite the fact that Americans support its construction.”

Sen. Tom Cotton (Republican from Arkansas) has asked that the Defense Department preserve all sales documents and provide a list with the companies who purchased the wall materials.

In a letter addressed to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, he said: “While I acknowledge the shameful decision made by President Biden to stop the construction of the necessary southwestern border walls, I still have questions about the Department’s involvement in the disposal of the material that was not used.”

The transition team of Mr. Trump is pressing Homeland Security officials for the latest information on what materials remain.

The administration of Mr. Biden says that it is implementing a part in the fiscal 2024 Defense Policy Bill, which required Mr. Austin come up with a “plan to use, transfer, or donate to the states on the Southern Border” any wall material that was deemed surplus.

Priority was given to using the materials for other border construction, including modernizing border crossings and projects to stop illegal immigration.

The law was enacted late in 2023 and gave Mr. Austin 75 to 100 days to create a plan and another 90 to report on the results. Pentagon officials said that they were in the middle with these plans.

In his court filing, Mr. Sauer stated that the law is intended to encourage construction and not a sale-off.

He said that dumping the materials for a huge discount would be in violation of Judge Tipton’s prior rulings.

The project of building a border wall was the centerpiece of Donald Trump’s 2016 successful campaign.

His promise to make Mexico “pay” the wall in cash didn’t happen — at least, not in actual dollars. However, his supporters say that his tough dealings with Mexico on immigration and trade more than made up for the costs of the wall paid by U.S. tax payers.

Under the watch of Mr. Trump, 458 miles worth of new barriers have been erected. On Mr. Trump’s watch, 458 miles of new barriers were erected. 87 miles were constructed where there was no fence before, 176 replaced an old fence that had become damaged or outdated, and 195 miles built where vehicle barriers had previously been installed but not a fence.

The project was to be an “advanced wall system” with roads, sensors and lighting to help Border Patrol agents detect illegal crossings.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) said that Mr. Trump prioritized his barriers, and neglected the rest of the wall. Only 69 miles were completed.

The GAO stated that “the full wall system is still incomplete” even though the cost of the panels is typically the highest.

As Mr. Trump was leaving office, he had the funds and plans to build another 300 miles of wall.