President Trump filed an amicus brief late Thursday supporting a legal effort by Texas and Missouri to immediately halt the Biden administration’s sale of border wall materials, describing the action as “possibly criminal.”
Texas and Missouri recently requested a status conference in a Texas district court to determine if the administration is violating a court injunction issued earlier this year. The injunction bars the government from using funds allocated for wall construction for any other purpose.
Trump’s brief urged the court to stop the ongoing sales, conduct a thorough investigation into the government’s actions, and evaluate compliance with the law, Constitution, and court orders. It argued that if the administration is intentionally selling materials at a loss to obstruct pro-wall policies, it could constitute a criminal conspiracy to defraud the U.S.
Since 2023, the Biden administration has been auctioning off border wall components, a practice that gained attention recently when video footage showed materials being moved, with Border Patrol agents alleging they were being cleared out before Christmas. A Defense official stated the materials were sold under a competitive process following the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act.
Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., introduced legislation this week to stop the sales, while Texas officials announced plans to purchase the materials and store them for use under the new administration. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton vowed to fight the sales in court, accusing the Biden administration of sabotaging border wall construction.
