Exclusive–Joni Ernst: Joe Biden Paying Contractors $3M Every Day to Not Build Border Wall

President Joe Biden is paying federal contractors upwards of $3 million every day to not construct border wall along the United States-Mexico border, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) says.

During an exclusive interview with SiriusXM Patriot’s Breitbart News Daily, Ernst detailed her latest legislation titled the BUILD IT Act which would turn over the unused border wall materials, already paid for by American taxpayers, to states that could then continue constructing the barrier at the border.

In January 2021, Biden halted all construction of border wall.

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“[My legislation] turns over those unused materials, that were purchased to construct the southern border barrier, to any state that wishes to finish the job. What we have done — we have purchased these materials,” Ernst said.

“Joe Biden canceled the construction of a border wall along the southern border, calling it a waste of money,” she continued. “But since he canceled that contract, the administration has continued paying contractors upwards of $3 million every single day to watch over these unused materials.”

“So why are we paying people to watch over materials that will not be used in this administration, according to him? Why don’t we turn it over then to the state governments who do wish to construct a border wall?” Ernst said.

In April, Breitbart News revealed in exclusive footage the extent to which the Biden administration is spending taxpayer money to leave giant holes in the 30-foot-tall border wall along California’s border with Mexico.

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“While those materials are lying out there in the desert, we know that there’s pilferage as well. So we need to protect the materials that have already been purchased by the federal government and allow the states to use them,” Ernst said.

“Instead, we’re wasting much more money every single day. … Think about the year and a half now that has passed since they canceled that project — $3 million a day. It’s just wasted money … for nothing,” she continued.

In 2021, the Biden administration oversaw more than two million border crossings at the southern border — the highest rate of illegal immigration in American history. Similarly, from February 2021 to April 2022, the Biden administration released at least 954,000 border crossers and illegal aliens into American communities.

Ernst noted that the record-breaking illegal immigration under Biden oftentimes outpaces the population of America’s major cities and states.

“Last year, we saw over two million border crossings. … We have ten states in the United States that don’t even have two million people in population,” Ernst said.

“If you don’t think that this is going to affect our country, because we would have many more people, children in schools, maybe their parents may or may not be paying taxes. … There’s a lot of local implications for having that many people that are undocumented coming into the United States. So it is an issue and it affects everyday life for every citizen,” she continued.

Today, there are anywhere from 11 to 22 million illegal aliens living in the U.S. — costing American taxpayers about $143 billion every year.

John Binder is a reporter for Breitbart News. Email him at jbinder@breitbart.com. Follow him on Twitter here.