Materials targeted to build a wall along the southern U.S. border that were being auctioned by the federal government have been removed from the auction website, the Washington Examiner reported Friday.
Republican Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wrote in a post Wednesday on X that Texas was made aware of the materials being scheduled for auction in Arizona on Dec. 12, which was the same day the Daily Wire reported on the sale. The next day, Patrick said Texas tried to find the border wall materials on the auction site GovPlanet, but those items were unavailable.
The original listings by GovPlanet showed the starting bids at $5 for a Dec. 18 auction. The listings have since been taken off the website.
“Texas sent a representative to Arizona, and the auctioneers told him they pulled the wall panels from being auctioned off today at the direction of the U.S. Government,” Patrick wrote. “They also told us that if these thousands of panels go up for auction, Texas will be notified first. Governor [Greg] Abbott and I stand ready to buy them if they do.”
Patrick wrote it was another victory for President-elect Donald Trump, “and he’s not even in office yet.”
On Thursday, Trump filed an amicus brief in support of an injunction to stop the Biden administration from selling the materials, as well as an investigation into the legality of the sale. Trump said earlier this week that it’s “almost a criminal act” what is being done in the weeks before he’s set to return to the White House, according to the Examiner.