Canceling the Conveyor Belt After the Invoice Prints

ICE is “ending” the WEXMAC-style contracting approach, which is a lovely PR hobby—right up until you remember the whole point of an invoice is that it arrives whether you keep the vehicle or ditch it.

I’m Phil McCracken, Capitol Hill corruption reporter, and I have watched this specific conga line before: use a DoD ordering vehicle to speed-run procurement, let the paperwork conveyor belt clatter forward, and then—once the problems get loud—declare the route “over” like that rewinds the receipts.

Here’s the contradiction the public can’t unsee. ICE officials, including Mullin, say the WEXMAC approach is being ended. But GAO reported planning/acquisition problems tied to the Camp East Montana contract process, and waste connected to paying for services based on maximum capacity even when detainees weren’t present—i.e., taxpayers got charged for capacity math that didn’t match reality.

And then the “fix” arrives the way a fire alarm arrives: after the kitchen is already featured in the news. The record described ICE terminating the initial contract and moving to a new operator. Operationally, sure. Accountability-wise? That’s not the same thing as undoing the billing logic GAO flagged.

You can cancel the conveyor belt. You can’t cancel the meal tickets once the printing starts.