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UkTexas bought $12 million in border wall materials in federal auction. Here’s why
Some members of Congress made similar claims on social media and in interviews that the Biden administration was selling pieces of usable material to stifle wall-building efforts just a month before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Trump also weighed in, calling the auction an “almost a criminal act” during a news conference Dec. 16.
“I’m asking today, Joe Biden, to please stop selling the wall,” Trump said.
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The sale, however, was ordered last year by Congress, and Texas had already received material from the federal government – and purchased more earlier this year.
Here’s what you should know about the controversy:
What’s being sold and why?
Trump’s first administration invested $15 billion in border wall construction, buying material with the intent of constructing hundreds of miles of barriers across the southwest border. Most of the construction replaced or updated already-existing barriers, and today 140 miles of barrier – mostly built before the Trump administration – lines the Texas-Mexico border.
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Trump estimated in his news conference that about 200 miles’ worth of material was still unused after he left office and Biden haltedmost wall construction (some wall construction continued under Biden).
The plan for the unused material was decided in 2023, when Congress passed the annual National Defense Authorization Act and Republican lawmakers added a section directing federal officials to submit a plan to Congress on how to dispose of excess border wall material.
The Defense Department submitted its plan in March, allowing the transfer of material to U.S. Customs and Border Protection and to states, with a preference for southwestern border projects. Congress required that any materials received by states be used to maintain current border barriers.
CBP, Texas and California received more than 60% of the material through a “reutilization, transfer, and donation process,” according to the Homeland Security Department.
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Patrick said in a Fox News interview that Texas also bought $12 million worth of material during a summer auction, enough to build about 4 miles of border wall.
How did wall materials end up being auctioned?
The remaining 40% was sold in June to government and military surplus company GovPlanet, which moved the materials to Arizona in December and listed them for auction on its website – some of it with starting bids of $5. GovPlanet had previously auctioned off other border wall material in late 2023.
Federal officials requested that GovPlanet remove them from auction after a Daily Wire article documented the materials being transferred to Arizona and called the move “an apparent effort to hinder President-elect Donald Trump’s effort to secure the border.” That prompted GOP lawmakers like U.S. Rep. Eric Burlison of Missouri and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas to call the move “sabotage” in social media posts referencing the article.
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In the Fox News interview, Patrick framed the auction as a last-ditch attempt by Biden to hinder future wall construction by discarding usable materials, calling it a “Great Biden Christmas border wall heist.”
How are Texas officials trying to block the auction?
Trump said that he spoke Dec. 16 with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton about blocking the auctions. A day later, Paxton filed a motion alongside Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham in a preexisting case, claiming the sale to GovPlanet violates a permanent injunction that a federal judge approved in May.
That injunction prevents the Biden administration from redirecting money intended for wall construction for other purposes – but it doesn’t mention wall materials. Paxton and Buckingham’s motion argues that because the materials were purchased with the restricted funds, selling them to GovPlanet violates the injunction.
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“If border wall materials … were sold to third parties, it is as if DHS took the congressional appropriation and gave the funds to a third party – contrary to this Court’s command that those funds be used solely for the ‘construction of physical barriers,’” the motion states.
The motion also requests that the federal government provide the manufacture date and original funding source for each of the wall materials sold to GovPlanet.
Will Texas buy more of the wall material?
In a Dec. 13 post, Patrick said the materials on the auction block were not worth salvaging.
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“The Texas Facilities Commission told us today that the material for sale was mostly junk, with most panels covered in concrete and rust,” Patrick posted. “There were a few panels that might be usable but not worth the cost of shipping to Texas from Arizona.”
But on Dec. 18, Patrick claimed that the auction lot contained usable wall panels that were “not clearly seen before.”
Patrick said Texas would be willing to buy any usable wall panels if they become available.
He said GovPlanet assured Texas officials that the state would be the first notified when wall materials are put up for auction again.
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Patrick also said that if the state purchased more wall materials, it would donate them to the federal government after Trump takes office Jan. 20.
The Texas Tribune is a nonpartisan, nonprofit media organization that informs and engages with Texans about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
This story has been updated to add a video.
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Trump vows to reclaim and construct unbuilt border wall after Biden’s auction halt
WASHINGTON, DC – AUGUST 13: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during an event at the Kennedy Center on August 13, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump is expected to announce the first nominees of the annual Kennedy Center Honors since taking control of the center’s board earlier this year. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
(TNND) — President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that Attorney General Pam Bondi is “working very hard” to sue the company responsible for selling unused components of Trump’s border that he planned to build before leaving office in his first term.
In January 2021, after taking office, former President Joe Biden took action to sell the unconstructed border wall components and implements and halted construction of the wall through an executive order.
“They stole the wall from us. That wall is so expensive to build and we had it, as you know, hundreds of miles of it. and they came along and they basically sold it for scrap,” the president said during a press conference at The Kennedy Center.
According to reports from Fox News Digital, the global government-surplus auction house, GovPlant that listed the unused materials of the border wall, plans to work with the Trump administration to return some of the materials to the federal government.
The price of the unused border wall materials was estimated to be worth between $260 million and $350 million.
“They sold the wall. Now, this is expensive stuff. Biden sold it for pennies on the dollar, three cents on the dollar, four cents on the dollar. He sold it,” Trump told reporters.
When asked if there are plans to continue building the wall, Trump said “We’re going to take the wall back. We’re paying a small amount of money, as I understand it, to get it back, to get rid of the litigation. We’ll take it back, we’ll put it up.”
A contentious battle in Texas last December resulted in a 30-day freeze on auctions of the materials.
Trump border wall materials sold by Biden may soon find their way back to the feds, auctioneer claims
GovPlanet previously listed unused components worth up to $350M under Biden administration
Texas takes action to stop Biden admin’s sale of border wall parts
Fox News senior national correspondent William La Jeunesse reports on the latest move from Texas on ‘America Reports.’
NEW You can now listen to Fox News articles!
FIRST ON FOX: The global government-surplus auction house that listed unused components of President Donald Trump’s border wall under the Biden administration told Fox News Digital on Friday that it plans to coordinate with the Trump administration to return some of the materials to the federal government.
In January 2021, President Joe Biden set in motion the chain of events that would eventually lead to the sale of unconstructed border wall components and implements.
“Like every nation, the United States has a right and a duty to secure its borders and protect its people against threats. But building a massive wall that spans the entire southern border is not a serious policy solution,” Biden said in an executive order halting construction.
Until Friday, the ultimate fate of the unused border wall materials – originally estimated to be worth between $260 million and $350 million – remained largely unclear. A contentious court battle in Texas last December resulted in a 30-day freeze on the auctions, but little has publicly transpired since.
Piles of unused border fence sit at one of the border wall construction staging areas on the Johnson Ranch near Columbus, New Mexico, on April 12, 2021. (Getty)
In a statement to Fox News Digital, GovPlanet – an auction clearinghouse for public-sector and government surplus – announced Friday they have reached a breakthrough deal with the Trump administration.
“GovPlanet has reached an agreement, working with the Office of the Border Czar, to return border wall materials that were previously deemed surplus and sourced by the federal government to GovPlanet via existing contracts,” said the company, a subsidiary of an Illinois-founded, British Columbia-based international operation called Ritchie Brothers Auctioneers-RB Global.
“A third-party firm that has been contracted for construction of the border wall will take receipt of the materials over the next 90 days,” GovPlanet added.
GovPlanet officials said they were pleased to work with the administration to return the materials “at-cost” to the feds and “protect the millions of dollars that U.S. taxpayers had already invested in this initiative.”
“We are expediting the transfer of these materials to support the administration’s border protection plans. We value our longstanding partnership with the U.S. government and look forward to continuing to support America’s federal agencies.”