Sen. Steve Daines Demands Restart of Border Wall Construction

Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) wrote a letter to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), contending President Joe Biden’s freeze of funds for border wall construction violates federal law.

“On January 20th, in one of the first official acts of his presidency, Joseph Biden suspended border wall construction and ordered a freeze of funds provided by Congress for that purpose,” Daines’ letter to GAO Comptroller General Gene Dodaro stated.

“In the weeks that followed, operational control of our southern border was compromised, and a humanitarian and national security crisis has ensued,” he added. “The President’s actions directly contributed to this unfortunate, yet entirely avoidable, scenario. They are also a blatant violation of federal law and infringe on Congress’s constitutional power of the purse.”

Daines has long contended Montana is a “northern border state” with a “southern border problem.” He told Breitbart News in a 2019 interview that Mexican methamphetamine continues to flow to Montana through America’s “porous” southern border.

The Montana conservative wrote that Biden’s freezing of funding for border wall construction has contributed to the crisis at the southern border. He noted the freeze violated the Impoundment Control Act (ICA) and requested the GAO’s legal opinion on the issue.

“Prompt action to end these violations is required to restore order at the border,” Daines charged.

A spokesperson for Daines also called on Biden to reverse his unraveling of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies. Daines will join a Senate delegation to the Texas-Mexico border soon.

“We need to secure the southern border first and get this crisis caused by Biden under control before considering any immigration reforms,” the Daines spokesperson said. “A starting point would be to reinstate the policies from the Trump administration that Biden reversed on Day One.”