White House dodges on Democratic calls for Biden to federalize Texas National Guard

White House officials declined to say whether President Biden has considered federalizing the Texas National Guard amid his clash with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott.

White House National Security Adviser John Kirby sidestepped questions on the topic during a brief gaggle with reporters aboard Air Force One on Thursday. Abbott has used the Texas National Guard to block agents from U.S. Customs and Border Protection from accessing certain areas along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Is the administration considering federalizing the Texas National Guard?” a reporter asked Thursday.

“We talked about this the other day,” Kirby began. “I don’t have any decisions to speak to for the president. I don’t have anything on that.”

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Abbott on Wednesday declared that the Biden administration had broken its federal compact with the state of Texas by allowing an “invasion” of illegal immigrants to cross the border.

Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, called on Biden to federalize the National Guard on Tuesday after it became clear Abbott wasn’t backing down.

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“Governor Greg Abbott is using the Texas National Guard to obstruct and create chaos at the border. If Abbott is defying yesterday’s Supreme Court ruling, [Biden] needs to establish sole federal control of the Texas National Guard now,” he wrote.

Abbott is fighting multiple legal battles with the Biden administration, which has threatened legal action over Texas’ seizure of Shelby Park near Eagle Pass. Texas has also filed lawsuits against the administration, which cut razor wire set up by the state on the Rio Grande to prevent migrants from illegally crossing into Texas, as well as the establishment of buoys on the river.

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Abbott’s fiery Wednesday statement invoked the American Founding Fathers and accused Biden of refusing to enforce the law.

“The Executive Branch of the United States has a constitutional duty to enforce federal laws protecting states, including immigration laws on the books right now,” Abbott said. “President Biden has refused to enforce those laws and has even violated them.”

 

“James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, and the other visionaries who wrote the U.S. Constitution foresaw that States should not be left to the mercy of a lawless president who does nothing to stop external threats,” he added.