Trump's final border wall spree left a disjointed mess resembling 'conceptual art'
Work crews were demolishing mountainsides for former President Donald Trump's border wall up until President Biden was inaugurated, even though Biden had made it clear he would halt construction on the wall. This last-minute spree of lame-duck wall construction left "an array of new barrier segments along the border, some of them bizarre in appearance and of no apparent utility," several looking "more like conceptual art pieces than imposing barriers to entry," The New York Times reports. Most of these wall fragments are in Arizona, not Texas, where most migrants cross over from Mexico.
There are also "dynamited mountaintops where work crews put down their tools in January, leaving a heightened risk of rapid erosion and even dangerous landslides as the summer monsoon season approaches," the Times notes. And the rough access roads those crews carved to remote areas that rarely saw border activity "now serve as easy access points for smugglers and others seeking to enter the once-remote areas along the border."
Biden gave the Homeland Security Department 60 days to review the contracts Trump signed and figure out which can be canceled, which can't, and which should be renegotiated. Wall critics want Biden to tear down these isolated fragments of Trump's $15 billion signature project. Republican leaders are calling on Biden to fill in the blank sections.
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.
Trying to up the pressure, 40 Senate Republicans are accusing Biden on Wednesday of unlawfully freezing border wall construction, focusing on the funds appropriated by Congress rather than those Trump unilaterally siphoned from DHS and Pentagon budgets, Politico reports. In a letter to the Government Accountability Office, the GOP senators claim Biden's wall pause infringed on "Congress' constitutional power of the purse" and "directly contributed to this unfortunate, yet entirely avoidable" migrant "crisis" on the southern border.
On the southern border, "property owners are still waiting to hear whether Biden's Justice Department will abort land condemnation cases initiated during border wall construction," and "people who live near the river want to know whether the federal government plans to restore flood levees damaged by unfinished border wall projects before hurricane season begins," The Washington Post reports. Otherwise, the border is the same it always is when a new administration takes over.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Indie film's 'very brief' use of AI sparks backlash and calls for boycotts
Talking Points Did the creators of a new horror movie make a deal with the artificial intelligence devil?
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Could Taylor Swift swing the election?
Today's Big Question The pop star has outsized influence — and that extends beyond the music industry
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold Published
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain Prize
Speed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Kevin Hart awarded Mark Twain Prize
Speed Read He is the 25th recipient of the prestigious comedy prize
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Is Downton Abbey set to return for a final film?
Speed Read Imelda Staunton reveals that a third movie may be in the pipeline
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
'Oppenheimer' sweeps Oscars with 7 wins
speed read The film won best picture, best director (Christopher Nolan) and best actor (Cillian Murphy)
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
'Rust' armorer convicted of manslaughter
speed read The film's cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed by actor Alec Baldwin during rehearsal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The Beatles are getting 4 intersecting biopics
Speed Read Director Sam Mendes is making four separate movies, each told from the perspective of one band member
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Taylor Swift to Miley Cyrus: female artists dominate 2024 Grammys
Speed Read SZA, Phoebe Bridgers and Lainey Wilson were also among the winners at LA gala
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
South Korea passes law banning sale and production of dog meat
Speed Read Rare bipartisan support 'highlights changing attitudes' as young people shun centuries-old tradition
By The Week UK Published
-
Out of touch: Daryl Hall obtains restraining order against bandmate John Oates
Speed Read Lawsuit reveals unharmonious relationship between most commercially successful duo in pop history
By Jamie Timson, The Week UK Published