Abbott: It would be ‘political blunder’ for Biden to seize Guard

WASHINGTON — Gov. Greg Abbott says it would be a “political blunder” for President Joe Biden to seize control of Texas’ National Guard as some have urged him to do in response to the state’s takeover of a key stretch of border.

“That would be the biggest political blunder he could make,”

Abbott said Monday night during an appearance on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show. “That’s why I think he will not do it.”

The comments come amid an unprecedented standoff between the state and federal government sparked by Texas troops earlier this month seizing a 2.5-mile stretch near Eagle Pass. National Guard soldiers have mostly been blocking Border Patrol from accessing the area, which includes a public park that has been among the most frequently crossed points of the border.

The Biden administration repeatedly has demanded the state give Border Patrol access to the park. The Department of Homeland Security last week sent a letter to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton demanding state officials remove “any and all obstructions” on federally owned land around the park. The letter gave a Friday deadline, but the state has not relented and so far the administration has not taken further action.

Some, including U.S Rep. Joaquin Castro, a San Antonio Democrat, have called on Biden to take control of the Guard, but the White House so far has shown no indication he intends to do so.

National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said last week that the president “has that option.” But Kirby said the Guard soldiers “have a chain of command under the governor, and we respect that chain of command.”

“We certainly disagree from a policy perspective,” Kirby said. “But, legally, (Abbott) is … the state commander-in-chief of the National Guard. It doesn’t mean we have to agree with every which way they’re used.”