FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Caroline Tabler or Patrick McCann (202) 224-2353
December 16, 2024

Cotton to Austin: Border Wall Disposal Must Fully Disclose    

Washington, D.C.— Senator Tom Cotton (R-Arkansas) today sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, demanding full transparency regarding on the Department of Defense’s role in selling parts of our southern border wall.

In part, Senator Cotton wrote: 

“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. While I recognize the shameful decision to halt the needed construction of the southwestern border wall was made by President Biden, I have outstanding questions regarding the Department’s role in disposing of the unused material.”

Full text of the letter may be found here and below.

The Honorable Lloyd J. Austin III

Secretary of Defense
1000 Defense Pentagon
Washington, D.C. 20301-1000

Secretary Austin,

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. While I recognize the shameful decision to halt the needed construction of the southwestern border wall was made by President Biden, I have outstanding questions regarding the Department’s role in disposing of the unused material.

To that end, I direct that you provide the following by January 15, 2025:

  • Written assurance that the Department will preserve all electronic and written material related to the disposition of the border wall materials. This includes the records, electronic or otherwise, of any individual involved in any aspect of the operation.
  • A full accounting of the disposition of the materials in line with the plan required by section 2890 of the Fiscal Year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
  • A list of all companies who bought the materials.

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. 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.

Sincerely,

Tom Cotton

United States Senator                      

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