The Biden administration is building more of the border wall in Texas. As The Washington Post reported, Biden had previously vowed not to build “another foot of wall” and halted construction the day he was inaugurated.
Why the shift? Biden said, “The money was appropriated for the border wall. I tried to get to them to reappropriate it, to redirect that money. They didn’t. They wouldn’t. And in the meantime, there’s nothing under the law other than they have to use the money for what it was appropriated. I can’t stop that.” When asked if he believes the border wall works, Biden simply said, “No.”
Let me say up front that as someone with many family members in Texas, I am not at all pleased with this development. That's especially true given that the administration is bypassing conservation and environmental regulations in the process. But the border-wall fanatics at Fox "News" should be celebrating it. And I’m sure they would be if this happened during a Republican administration. But this happened under President Biden, so…
During Thursday’s press briefing, Fox's White House correspondent Peter Doocy did his best to get a MAGA-friendly clip for the network. “As a candidate, President Biden didn’t say there will not be another foot of wall constructed except what was appropriated in 2019,” Doocy began. “He said, ‘there will not be another foot of wall constructed in my administration.’ So, something changed. What?”
Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre shot back, “You want us to break the law? Is that what you want? You want us to not comply with the law?”
Doocy’s response suggested he knew Biden is obligated to use the money for a border barrier. Instead of challenging Jean-Pierre’s assertion, Doocy demanded to know why Biden hadn’t gone to court to fight the requirement.
“We went to Congress,” Jean-Pierre replied. “We asked them to not use that funding for that particular purpose, they denied it and now we’re complying with the law.”
Doocy’s idiotic follow up? He asked whether the administration is “just going to tear it down” once the new wall section is built.
I don’t know how Jean-Pierre kept a straight face. She responded, “I’m not getting into hypotheticals from here.” She added that Biden had asked Congress to reappropriate “multiple times” but they did not.
