Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) assures the audience that he has spoken “many times” with President-elect Donald Trump — though “not today,” Cruz makes clear — and the two politicians are together slamming the Biden-Harris administration for the sale of materials previously designated for use in border wall construction.
Cruz calls the move “one of the most offensive things” he’s ever seen, and Cruz has historically found plenty that offends him. Trump has said the sale is “almost criminal” and very publicly asked Biden to stop the sale of the materials. Trump asserts that sales of the material will make future wall construction — which he has pledged — more expensive.
“I’m asking today, Joe Biden, to please stop selling the wall,” Trump said from Mar-a-Lago this week. Many MAGA adherents have joined Trump in condemning the move, with former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey characterizing the sale as a “last-ditch effort to keep America’s borders open by selling off materials.”
Cruz, speaking without nuance and without acknowledging his understanding of the procurement and sale protocol, said that the sale was taking place because Joe Biden and Kamala Harris “hate the voters.”
Cruz says Harris and Biden are “filled with rage.”
.@tedcruz: “On the question of selling off the border wall — this is one of the most offensive things I’ve ever seen.”pic.twitter.com/ygEDpPRLdg
— Daily Wire (@realDailyWire) December 17, 2024
If Cruz did want to share the nuances of protocol leading to the sale, he would have told Americans that it had little to do with Biden or Harris, let alone with their alleged “rage.”
The Texas Senator would also be hard-pressed to justify his assertion that Harris and Biden are “trying with bitterness to do everything to frustrate the will of the voters.” (Harris swiftly conceded her election loss, and Biden hosted Trump at the White House, giving every appearance of acknowledging the will of the voters.)
The reality is that the sale looks more like a forerunner to the Elon Musk-promised DOGE cost-cutting initiatives than it does a spiteful move by enraged Democrats.
The sale is actually required by law, a result of Section 2890 of the National Defense Authorization Act, which required the Department of Defense to deal with the materials within 75 days of its enactment.
The sponsor of the bill, who Cruz left out, was Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL), the Republican Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee.
As the Arizona Republic reports: “Section 2890 of the National Defense Authorization Act, introduced by Republican lawmakers in the House, requires the Department of Defense to develop a plan to use, transfer or donate all ‘covered materials’ purchased for border barrier construction between fiscal years 2017 and 2022.”
The stuff is for sale at GovPlanet, where more than 20,000 items of government surplus is for sale, including diesel engine parts, large field packs, forklifts, cars, flatbed trucks and much more.