Biden's $230 million Gaza pier quietly shuts down, U.S. senator labels project 'national embarrassment' | 18 July 2024 | The U.S. military has started shutting down operation of the hugely expensive and troublesome pier into the Gaza Strip, citing difficulties with distribution as a key factor in the decision. "This chapter might be over in President [sic] Biden’s mind, but the national embarrassment that this project has caused is not. The only miracle is that this doomed-from-the-start operation did not cost any American lives," Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., said in a statement issued after the project's closure. "I have been calling for an end to this election-year gimmick since its primetime inception at the State of the Union." "While I am glad it has finally concluded, we cannot buy back the $230 million needlessly spent, and significant questions remain about the Biden administration's poor planning for this mission," Wicker stressed.