Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Monday issued a statement about the Biden administration’s attempts to take over state National Guard units.
“President Biden and his Admin. are making a power grab for the National Guard. They want to give the Secretaries unilateral authority to dismantle National Guard units on a whim. Governors must not be sidelined as commander-in-chief of our National Guards,” Abbott wrote on X.
In a public statement, Abbott’s office explained Legislative Proposal 480 by Biden’s U.S. Department of the Air Force “poses a threat to the Texas National Guard.”
The proposal would give the U.S. Air Force “unilateral authority to transfer Air National Guard units to the Space Force—sidelining Governors as the commander-in-chief of their respective National Guards,” according to the governor’s office.
A letter sent directly to Joe Biden by Abbott stated, “In recent years, members of the Texas National Guard have heroically responded to hurricanes, wildfires, and a variety of other disasters, including the one at the Texas-Mexico border. Legislative Proposal 480, put forth by the U.S. Department of the Air Force, poses an intolerable threat to the Texas National Guard. Congress has long required the consent of a governor before units can be transferred out of the National Guard he commands.”
Abbott’s message continued, “By departing from this sensible arrangement, and allowing the Secretaries to dismantle National Guard units on a whim, Legislative Proposal 480 would set a dangerous precedent. Members of the Texas National Guard must always stand ready to respond to natural disasters, civil disturbances, cartel activity that threaten our way of life. Instead of attempting such a power grab in Congress, the U.S. Department of the Air Force should work with the affected governors to build up the Space Force in a way that is consistent with federal law.”
Read the full statement below:
The authoritarian Biden administration is openly attempting to usurp state rights in what will only further divide the federal government and areas led by Republican politicians.
