Kristi Noem Offers to Drive Greg Abbott More Razor Wire

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem offered to deliver razor wire via car to her Texas counterpart and fellow Republican, Greg Abbott, to use along the U.S. southern border amid Abbott's ongoing fight with the federal government on border control.

Speaking with Fox News' Martha MacCallum on Thursday, Noem defended Abbott's use of razor wire and other barriers to fortify Texas' southern border along the Rio Grande. The Biden administration has argued that the barriers prevent federal Border Patrol agents from reaching migrants as they cross the river, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday that the federal government is allowed to remove the razor wire.

"Governor Abbott has done the exact right thing," Noem said on Fox News. "And I'll drive him more razor wire from South Dakota if I have to for him to do his job."

Several Republican governors have spoken out in support of Abbott in light of his legal battle with the White House. Noem has sent dozens of South Dakota's National Guard troops to the southern border to assist Texas' National Guard in curbing migration since 2021, and has previously called the U.S.-Mexico border a "warzone."

"Our Border Patrol agents do not support what President [Joe] Biden is doing," Noem added while speaking with MacCallum. "Our ICE agents on the ground do not support what President Biden is doing. Democrats in the country do not support what President Biden is doing at the southern border, and they disagree with him fundamentally."

"He's so out of touch," Noem added, referring to Biden. "He's remaking this country—We will be Europe within a year or two if we allow President Biden to continue this invasion of our country."

Abbott and his administration have held firm behind the governor's border policies despite his Supreme Court loss this week. Abbott claims that Texas has a constitutional right to self-defense and his state was "acting on that authority, as well as state law, to secure the Texas border" by using the razor wire.

Texas law enforcement has also stood its ground despite the high court's ruling, preventing federal Border Patrol agents from accessing parts of Shelby Park, a 47-acre area along the bank of the Rio Grande near Eagle Pass, Texas, where thousands of migrants have crossed into U.S. territory.

The Department of Homeland Security sent a letter to Abbott on Tuesday, demanding access to the park. The Texas governor responded in a statement on Wednesday, defending his administration's actions, adding that Biden had "violated his oath to faithfully execute immigration laws enacted by Congress."

Noem said on Thursday that she believes that the federal agents sent to Texas to address the standoff with Abbott's administration "hate that they were put into this situation" and that they "will know what they are doing is wrong."

"We have people every single day in this country that are committing crimes and violating our laws, and the president of the United States is allowing them to do that," Noem added.

"The inhumanity of the Biden policies is destroying America, and I'd never thought in my life that I could see a country change as fast as it has," Noem said. "So it is time that we stand shoulder to shoulder and we stand up now to make sure we protect the future of this country."

Newsweek reached out to the White House via email for comment on Thursday.

Update 1/25/24, 4:19 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and background.