Kari Lake, a Republican candidate in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial election, taunted the Biden administration by promising to finish a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border with "Arizona steel," adding that the project would start "the day" she is "sworn into office."
"You ready, @JoeBiden?" the former local news anchor teased the president through Twitter on Thursday.
Lake, 52, is running to replace term-limited Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, according to the Washington Examiner.
The candidate's campaign website gloats about an endorsement from former President Donald Trump and says she is "committed to finishing the wall."
"I will direct the Arizona National Guard to deploy along the border and assist Border Patrol for as long as it takes to get control of this disaster," the Issues page reads.
"But we can go further," the page added. "I will empower Arizona sheriffs to deputize Arizonans, including retired law enforcement, military, and others with critical training, to assist DPS in enforcing the law and securing our border."
Lake's taunting follows action from Texas GOP Gov. Greg Abbott, who unveiled approximately 900 feet of additional border wall on state-owned land this month, according to The Texas Tribune.
Under the Trump administration, the wall at the southern border was purported to cost about $9 million per mile, the Examiner reported.
Arizona, with a budget of about $13 billion, would need to divert limited state funds to the wall's construction. The plans would also likely be challenged by the federal government, according to the Examiner.
While running for president in 2020, Biden said that "there will not be another foot of wall" constructed in his administration. After taking office, he followed suit and halted construction.
However, the Department of Homeland Security said this month that it plans to close "small gaps that remain open from prior construction activities and remediating incomplete gates."
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