FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., is demanding that Department of Defense (DOD) Secretary Lloyd Austin promise to preserve all records as the Biden administration continues to build materials for walls ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s second election Southern border sold at low prices term.

“I am writing to demand full accountability and transparency from the Department of Defense about its role in disposing of surplus border wall material from the first Trump administration,” the senator said in a letter to Austin on Monday.

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Cotton demanded that Austin preserve records associated with the sales. (Reuters)

He acknowledged that President Biden was the one who decided to “halt the necessary construction of the Southwest border wall,” but added that he had questions about the Defense Department’s role in selling materials.

Fox News’ William La Jeunesse reported that sections of the wall were being sold “as scrap” and for just “pennies on the dollar.”

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Biden’s administration has disposed of excess border wall material as required by the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), according to a Defense Department official. The official said about 60% of those materials were turned over to authorized recipients such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection in Texas and California. They added that 40% was purchased from GOVPLANET, a marketplace that sells surplus government equipment and materials. The border wall materials available at the site are not currently owned by the government and the Defense Department does not have the authority to prevent their sale, the official said.

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Immigrants line up at a remote U.S. Border Patrol processing center after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in Lukeville, Arizona, December 7, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)

In his letter to Austin, Cotton asked the secretary to provide a written assurance that the department would “preserve all electronic and written materials related to the disposition of border wall materials.”

Additionally, he demanded a “full accounting” of how border wall materials were disposed of, as outlined in the NDAA.

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Finally, Cotton requested a list of all the companies to which materials were sold.

“Thankfully, the egregious waste of taxpayer dollars and display of pressing national security concerns will come to an end on January 20, 2025, when President-elect Trump takes office,” the Arkansas Republican said. “Congress will use the records you are required by law to preserve to fully understand the Biden Department of Defense’s role in the insecurity of our border.”

The end of border wall construction at Chilton Ranch. (Adam Shaw/Fox News)

The Defense Department did not immediately provide comment to Fox News Digital.

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At a news conference on Monday, Trump implored the Biden administration to end its ongoing lame-duck efforts to sell border wall materials. “It’s almost a criminal offense,” the president-elect said.

“You know we’re going to use it,” Trump said, adding that it will cost more to get it back.

He predicted that rebuilding parts of the wall would cost “hundreds of millions of dollars more.”