Defense Department Halts Border Wall Building as It Reviews Biden's Order

By Mary Anne R. (staff@latinpost.com) First Posted: Jan 21, 2021 11:48 PM EST

President Joe Biden prepares to sign a series of executive orders at the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office just hours after his inauguration on January 20, 2021 in Washington, DC. Biden became the 46th president of the United States earlier today during the ceremony at the U.S. Capitol. (Photo : Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

President Joe Biden has signed numerous executive orders on his first day in office, including an order stopping the construction of the U.S.-Mexico border wall. The Defense Department said Thursday it would pause construction as it reviews Biden's order.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Raini W. Brunson, said the agency is following the direction provided in the executive order regarding implementing the pause, U.S. News reported.

Brunson said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, who oversees the border wall contracts, would take the appropriate actions in complying with the order.

He added that they would also coordinate their acts with the Department of Defense and their partners at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection or the Department of Homeland Security.

On Wednesday, Biden ordered a postponement on all wall construction within a week. According to a PBS report, with Biden's order, the project is left unfinished but still under contract.

The Trump administration has managed to build 450 miles of the wall, which former president Donald Trump said he achieved eight days before leaving the office.

Border Wall Cost

The Trump administration said that it had identified $15 billion to build a total of 738 miles. However, it is still unclear how many of those additional miles are under contract.

It is also unknown what cancellation fees Biden would pay to fulfill his promise of not building "another foot" of the wall.

Biden wanted answers in two months on how much the government committed, as well as the cost it would need to extricate itself. The president also wanted to know if the contracts could be reused for other purposes.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers claimed that Biden could save $2.6 billion by stopping the wall's construction. However, according to a Government Executive report, the financial costs of deciding to stop work have not been publicly disclosed.

The White House did not immediately respond to comment on the issue. But Biden advisors earlier said the wall was "wasteful" and possibly an illegal diversion of funds from other programs.

According to a Los Angeles Times report, Trump reallocated that money from military accounts after declaring a national emergency when Congress bipartisan votes shelved his full requests to fund the wall.

The Trump administration was also scrutinized for costing taxpayers much more than anticipated for the wall, waving regulations to speed up construction, and allegedly manipulating a $400 million contract.

The federal government has spent $6.1 billion as of Jan. 15., out of the $10.8 billion in work it signed contracts to have done, said a Senate Democratic aide familiar with the deals. The aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as details have not been made public, said the full amount under contract would have extended the wall to 664 miles, the Associated Press reported.

On Jan. 14, the Senate aide said the Trump administration notified them that it was pushing ahead with an $863 million contract. However, the said contract was not awarded.

Tags biden, border wall, Defense Department