A Trump-touted construction firm's border wall contract was under investigation. Then it got another one.


A North Dakota construction firm somehow ended up with the largest ever contract to build the border wall even though its first contract is still under a Defense Department investigation.
Fisher Sand and Gravel secured a $1.3 billion contract to build a technically challenging 42-mile stretch of the President Trump's U.S.-Mexico border wall through Arizona, The Arizona Daily Star first reported. Trump had talked up Fisher after the company's CEO formed ties with Trump's advisers and praised the president on TV, and now lawmakers are starting to ask questions.
Fisher CEO Tommy Fisher had paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to lobby Republican lawmakers into talking up his company to Trump, and his pressure eventually stuck. Trump would often push the Army Corps of Engineers to consult with Fisher for all its border needs, The Washington Post reports. Democrats' concerns of improper White House influence on the border wall contract process eventually pushed the Department of Defense's inspector general to launch an audit of Fisher's first contract, and that probe is still ongoing.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The news of the second contract prompted at least Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.) to tweet that "border wall construction should be halted until this investigation is over."
House Homeland Security Committee Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) meanwhile told the Post it "speaks volumes to the administration's lack of transparency that they didn't announce this award — the largest ever," and called on the Trump administration to "pause construction and contracting decisions" until the investigation and the coronavirus pandemic have ended.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
-
The countries around the world without jury trials
The Explainer Legal systems in much of continental Europe and Asia do not rely on randomly selected members of the public
-
How did the Wagner Group recruit young British men for arson attack?
Today's Big Question Russian operatives have been using encrypted messaging apps to groom saboteurs across Europe
-
The best graphic novels
The Week Recommends These inventive illustrated books will transport you to another world
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin August 1 on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
New tariffs set on 14 trading partners
Speed Read A new slate of tariffs will begin on August 1, with rates ranging from 25% to 40% on imports from Japan, South Korea, Thailand and more
-
Elon Musk launching 'America Party'
Speed Read The tech mogul promised to form a new political party if Trump's megabill passed Congress
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration