The White House responded to a report this week claiming that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) would restart construction of the U.S.–Mexico border wall to shore up gaps in the current barrier, after President Joe Biden issued an executive order months ago to pause construction.
White House press secretary Jen Psaki on April 6 told reporters that “there is some limited construction that has been funded and allocated for, but it is otherwise paused,” adding that some of the wall has “already been funded through a congressional authorization and funding allocation.”
“It’s paused while agencies are developing a plan for the president on the management of the federal funds,” she said. “When the administration took office, as you referenced, funds had been diverted from congressionally appropriated military construction projects and other appropriated purposes toward building the wall.
“And wall construction was being challenged in multiple lawsuits—and for much of the wall, I should say; not all of it—by plaintiffs who allege serious environmental and safety issues.
“Federal agencies are continuing to review wall contracts and develop a plan to submit to the president soon.”
Biden, in stopping the construction of the wall, said he considered it wasteful spending.
“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 at the time. “It is a waste of money that diverts attention from genuine threats to our homeland security.”
Days after the executive action was taken, Customs and Border Protection confirmed that wall construction had been halted.
But in late March, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) confirmed reports that it’s investigating the construction freeze.
A spokesperson told The Epoch Times, “Yes, we received a congressional request for a legal opinion on the matter, and we have accepted that request.” The exact nature of the GAO investigation was not disclosed.
Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) told Politico, which reported on GAO’s probe, that Biden should know that “it’s the Congress’s job to authorize how the money is spent and the president’s job to spend it efficiently.”