Tom Cotton asks Pentagon to keep records on sale of border wall materials

Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Monday in a letter sent to the Pentagon.

In the letter, Cotton requested that the department maintain a record of its interactions about the sale of materials that were supposed to be used in the construction of a wall along the southern border of the United States, as Fox News reported.

As President-elect Donald Trump prepares to begin his second term in office, the administration of President Joe Biden has begun selling surplus components for the border wall at reduced costs.

This comes after Biden put a stop to the construction of the wall, and Congress gave the Biden administration permission to dispose of supplies for the border wall that were not being used as part of the National Defense Authorization Act in the previous year.

Detail Requests

Cotton told the secretary to provide "written assurance" that the department would preserve all the electronic and written information related to the sales, asked for a "full accounting" of how the border wall materials were disposed of as outlined in the NDAA.

He also asked for a list of the companies that purchased the material, as was outlined in the letter dated Dec. 16.

The lawmaker, along with others in Washington, are concerned that the Biden administration has been so bent on making sure the Trump border wall didn't get implemented that they could be risking national security in the process.

In Cotton's Terms

"I write to demand full accountability and transparency from the Department of Defense about its role in the disposal of excess border wall materials from the first Trump administration," the senator wrote.

"Thankfully, the egregious waste of taxpayer money and flaunting of urgent national security concerns will end on January 20, 2025, when President-elect Trump assumes office.

The lawmaker also outlined what they planned to do with the records, saying: "Congress will use the records you are required by law to preserve to fully understand the Biden Department of Defense’s role in making our border less secure," he added.

The Department of Defense needs to explain their role in dismantling and selling parts of our southern border wall.

The Biden Administration has wasted millions of taxpayer dollars while making our border less secure. https://t.co/UsDgOt5CBy

— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) December 16, 2024

From the DOD

The Defense Department officials informed the outlet that 60% of the sales were allocated to authorized recipients, such as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Texas and California, and 40% were allocated to GOVPLANET, a marketplace that facilitates the sale of surplus government equipment and materials.

In addition, Trump has urged the Biden administration to cease the sale of border wall materials, asserting that he intends to utilize the material upon his return to office next month.