Texas Governor Says He Has Plan to Counter Biden Taking Over National Guard

Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday night that he has a plan in place to "secure our border" in the event that President Joe Biden decides to take control of the Texas National Guard, but did not divulge the plan and was discouraged by Hannity to share it.

The Context

Republicans have been locked in a border policy dispute with the Biden administration since the president first took office in January 2021. Abbott has taken measures into his own hands by installing obstacles to keep migrants from crossing the border, such as razor-wire and floating circular saw barriers.

A political standoff intensified last week after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that federal border agents could remove Abbott's razor-wire, sparking defiance from the governor and other Republicans and increasing calls from Democrats for the president to federalize the Texas National Guard.

What We Know

"This is the No. 1 issue in America," Abbott said during his Hannity appearance. "If Joe Biden federalizes our National Guard, that would be the biggest political blunder that he could make. And that's why I think he will not do it."

"That said," he continued, "I am prepared, in the event that they do make such a blunder, to make sure that Texas will be able to continue to secure our border."

The Fox News host responded to the governor by suggesting that he should not reveal any details of his apparent plan to avoid giving the Biden administration any opportunity to thwart it.

"I'm not going to even ask you what your plan is, because I don't want you to telegraph it to them," Hannity said, prompting a smile and chuckle from Abbott.

Newsweek reached out for comment to the White House via email late Monday night.

Views

After the Supreme Court ruling, Abbott claimed that illegal migration constitutes an "invasion" of Texas and said that his state was exercising "constitutional authority to defend and protect itself."

A number of Democrats, including Texas U.S. Representatives Joaquin Castro and Greg Casar, responded by urging Biden to exercise his constitutional authority to federalize the national guard, which would put Texas' military under the command of the president, not Abbott.

On Monday, a group of 26 Republican state attorneys general warned Biden to "get out of the way" of Texas, while arguing that the president does not have the "legal authority" to federalize the guard. However, Biden does have legal authority under Title 10 of the U.S. Code.

What's Next?

It remains unclear whether or not the president will intervene in Texas. However, the border dispute has had impact far outside of Texas, leading to partisan gridlock in Congress that has also blocked the passage of military aid for Ukraine and Israel.

Some Republicans have suggested that the border issue could spark a new civil war. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia has called for what she says would be a "national divorce" between blue and red states due to "irreconcilable differences."