GovPlanet—the government surplus auction site owned by equipment and materials auctioneer Ritchie Bros. said it intends to return to the federal government construction materials valued at between $260 million and $350 million that originally was intended for a planned U.S.-Mexico border wall but deemed surplus by the Biden administration.
An unnamed third-party firm that has been contracted for wall construction will take receipt of materials over the next 90 days, according to an Aug. 8 agreement between GovPlanet and the Office of the Border Czar in the Dept. of Homeland Security.
GovPlanet did not reveal the name of the contractor, but wall projects in both Texas and California have been under construction since April by contractors Granite Construction, the Barnard/Spencer Joint Venture, Fisher Sand & Gravel, SLS Co. and the BCCG joint venture.
Steel tubing, bollards and concrete materials were purchased during the first Trump administration for border wall construction but went unused. Alejandro Mayorkas, previous administration Homeland Security chief, attempted to sell the materials via GovPlanet in August 2024 but was stymied by an order from a federal judge in Texas that they must be used for border wall construction, since Congress appropriated funds for that purpose.
In 2023, the Biden administration said it would restart border wall construction, but actual work never resumed, with materials transferred to GovPlanet sites in Arizona and New Mexico. Federal officials said talks restarted with the auction house in January to reacquire the materials. While they were valued at up to $350 million when purchased in 2017, neither the auction house nor Homeland Security could confirm if their current condition condition is suitable for new construction.
“We are pleased to have been able to partner with the Office of the Border Czar and members of President Trump’s administration to return the border wall materials at cost, helping to protect the millions of dollars that U.S. taxpayers had already invested in this initiative,” a GovPlanet representative said in a statement. “We are expediting the transfer of these materials to support … border protection plans. We value our longstanding partnership with the U.S. government … continuing to support America’s federal agencies.”
