Speaker, Several Governors Side With Texas Against Feds in Border Standoff

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) makes a statement alongside (L–R) Rep. Mike Turner (R-Ala.), Mike Rogers (R-Ohio), and Mike McCaul (R-Texas) outside the White House in Washington on Jan. 17, 2024. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

The Lone Star State has a posse: Governors and state officials across the nation and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) are among those who have sided with Texas in its standoff with the Biden administration over the southern border.

On Jan. 24, after the Supreme Court ruled that U.S. Border Patrol could remove razor wire placed by Texas authorities along the U.S.–Mexico border in Eagle Pass, Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott posted a statement on X accusing the federal government of having “broken the compact between the United States and the States.”

The governor argued that Texas must now exercise a right to self-defense against a record-breaking influx of illegal immigrants crossing its border under the Biden administration.

His letter cites Article 1, Sec. 10, Clause 3 of the Constitution, which references states being “invaded.” It draws on an opinion from the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in the 2012 case “Arizona v. United States.” Justice Scalia wrote that the relevant constitutional language “leaves intact [states’] inherent power to protect their territory” and acknowledges “states’ sovereign interest in protecting their borders.”

Citing those examples, Mr. Abbott said he had “already declared an invasion under Article 1, [Sec.] 10, Clause 3 to invoke Texas’ constitutional authority to defend and protect itself.”

“That authority is the supreme law of the land and supersedes any federal statutes to the contrary,” he said.

Republican Officials in Solidarity

A show of support from Republican officials elsewhere in the nation flooded X overnight. They came after Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte voiced support for Texas on Jan. 23, before Mr. Abbott released his defiant Jan. 24 statement.

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Mr. Johnson also declared his support for the governor.

“I stand with Governor Abbott. The House will do everything in its power to back him up. The next step: holding Secretary Mayorkas accountable,” Mr. Johnson wrote on X on Jan. 24, referring to the possible impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, which House Republicans are pursuing.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who recently dropped out of the presidential race, likewise backed Mr. Abbott. He said his state would “keep assisting Texas with personnel and assets.”

“Virginia stands with Texas,” Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin wrote on X on Jan. 24.

On Jan. 25, West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice wrote on X, “We support [Gov. Abbott] and the State of Texas.”

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox, South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey, and Oklahoma Gov. Ken Stitt, along with Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft and Reps. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and Byron Donalds (R-Fla.) are among the public officials across the country who have expressed solidarity with Texas.

Critics of the move include cultural commentator and mathematician James Lindsay.

“Bad feelings about this. Hope I’m wrong,” he wrote on X.

Former President Donald J. Trump hasn’t yet weighed in on Truth Social—and neither Mr. Mayorkas nor President Joe Biden has commented on the developing situation on X.

But Stephen Miller, an immigration policy adviser under the first Trump administration, has commented, defending the move as well.

“The federal government has willfully abrogated its duties under the guarantee clause (Article IV, Sec IV)—Biden engineered the invasion—thus Art I, Sec X applies,” he wrote on X.

The relevant language in Article 4 of the Constitution reads, “The United States shall guarantee to every state in this union a republican form of government, and shall protect each of them against invasion.”

Stephen Miran, a veteran of the Trump administration Treasury Department, has warned on X that “we have a bubbling constitutional crisis because the Biden [administration] won’t enforce immigration law and protect the southern border.”

Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who, in Iowa, was an active surrogate for Mr. DeSantis, has also sided with his home state.

“This is the right position. You have my full support to do what is necessary to protect Texas,” he wrote on X, linking to an article on NTD, The Epoch Times’ sister media outlet.

On the other side of the aisle, Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas) has called on the president to seize control of the Texas National Guard.