AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has found a reliable ally in Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) as the two Republicans lock horns with President Joe Biden over the border crisis.
Abbott, who has unleashed state soldiers and police to assist with border security in a multibillion-dollar initiative known as Operation Lone Star, is tied up in multiple lawsuits with the Justice Department. Meanwhile, Johnson refused to move on a White House-brokered border deal last month, reasoning that it would give political cover to Biden without solving the crisis.
The opposition represents two distinct fronts for the president, who faces low approval ratings over his handling of the border. But Johnson and Abbott see themselves as fighting the same battle, with Biden so far refusing to concede to their steep demands for policy changes.
Johnson reinforced House Republicans’ support for Texas during a Thursday meeting with Abbott at the governor’s mansion in downtown Austin.
“By opening the border to criminals, traffickers, and cartels, the Biden administration is actively endangering the American people, our families, ranchers, and law enforcement,” Johnson said in a statement following the visit. “When the federal government fails to perform its constitutional duty to protect our borders, states have no choice but to fill that role.”
At the same time, Abbott implored Johnson to pass border security legislation that was capable of stopping illegal crossings between ports of entry along the southern border.
Johnson’s trip was not his first to the Lone Star State, having led more than 60 of his colleagues to the border there in January. However, it underscored how Texas is ground zero for what is both a humanitarian crisis and a political battle.
Abbott has emerged as one of Biden’s biggest critics over the border, saying the administration has not done enough to stem the flow or detain and deport those whom federal law enforcement does apprehend. His use of state resources has been viewed as usurping the authority of the federal government. The Justice Department has sued Texas for, among other actions, placing a floating border barrier in the Rio Grande.
However, Johnson has defended Abbott, saying the red state is merely attempting to “safeguard its citizens” and that the House would continue to support Texas in its legal battles. Texas most recently attempted to implement a bill that would allow the state to carry out its own version of federal immigration laws, but it has been tied up in court.
Johnson has waged his own fights with Democrats. The House passed a comprehensive border security bill last year, but the Democratic-controlled Senate has deemed the legislation too extreme to take up for consideration, much to the dismay of House Republicans in Texas, including Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX), who led the bill’s efforts.
The ability of lawmakers to reach a compromise that includes elements of that bill could help unlock a larger battle over money for Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the House GOP also backed Georgia Republicans following the murder of nursing student Laken Riley. The House passed the Laken Riley Act, which would require federal immigration officials to detain illegal immigrants who have been arrested and charged with select criminal offenses, a tribute to how Riley’s suspected killer was arrested by local police but not turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
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Johnson shared with Abbott ahead of an announcement Thursday afternoon that the House planned to deliver articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on April 10, roughly two months after House Republicans impeached the Cabinet official over his handling of the border.
On Thursday, House Republicans, timing the delivery to lawmakers’ return from a two-week recess, demanded the upper chamber follow through with a trial as Democratic leadership contemplates quashing the articles shortly after they are transmitted.
