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

Republican Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton on Monday sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, requesting that the department keeps a record of its communications regarding the sale of material that was intended to build a wall on the U.S. southern border.

President Joe Biden's administration has been selling excess border wall materials for low prices ahead of President-elect Donald Trump's second term. It comes after Biden halted construction of the wall, and Congress authorized the Biden administration last year to dispose of unused border wall materials as part of the National Defense Authorization Act.

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, Fox News reported. He also asked for a list of the companies that purchased the material.

"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. 

"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.

Defense Department officials told the outlet that 60% of the sales went to authorized recipients, including the U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Texas and California, and 40% went to GOVPLANET, a marketplace that sells excess government equipment and materials.

Trump has also urged the Biden administration to halt its sales of the border wall materials, claiming that he plans to use the material when he returns to office next month.

Misty Severi is an evening news reporter for Just the News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.