House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) met with Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Thursday at his headquarters to discuss the ongoing border crisis and House Republicans’ response to it.
The meeting came hours after Johnson announced that the House would send articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on April 10.
“By opening our borders to criminals, human traffickers, and cartels, the Biden administration is actively putting American citizens, families, ranchers, and law enforcement at risk. “The states have no choice but to play their part,” Johnson said in a statement after the meeting.
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House Speaker Mike Johnson spoke with Texas Governor Greg Abbott on Thursday. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, Suzanne Cordeiro/AFP via Getty Images)
“Now, as the Biden Justice Department uses its judicial system to go after the state of Texas that tried to protect its citizens, we are witnessing a gross abuse of power. Texans, and all Americans, deserve better treatment. You deserve it.”
Johnson expressed support for Abbott’s efforts to secure the Texas-Mexico border, and the two discussed ways to “hold the Biden administration accountable,” the speaker’s office said.
Johnson’s office said the Louisiana Republican also briefed Abbott on the House’s readiness to send articles of impeachment to the Senate.
Mr. Abbott, in turn, asked Mr. Johnson to “pass a border security bill that will help deter illegal border crossings between ports of entry along our southern border,” according to the governor’s office.
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The two men discussed the House’s impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. (Getty Images)
“The Governor also asked Chairman Johnson to support the state’s continued fight against President Biden’s attacks on Texas’ historic border mission and denial of border security,” Abbott’s office said.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the White House for comment on the meeting.
Mr. Abbott has been at odds with President Biden for months over disagreements over the handling of the migrant crisis at the border.
The White House blamed Abbott and the state of Texas for actions taken under Operation Lone Star, including installing razor wire at the border and deporting migrants to Democratic-run cities such as New York City and Chicago. criticizing officials. But Texas officials have accused the White House of not doing enough to stem the migrant crisis at the federal level.
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Republicans are calling on President Biden to do more on the southern border. (Jacqueline Martin/AP/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
House Republicans have similarly been pressuring Biden over the border crisis, accusing him and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York of not taking up HR2, a tough border security bill that Democrats rejected as unworkable. ) has been repeatedly criticized.
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Johnson sent a letter to Schumer on Thursday informing him that House impeachment managers will send articles of impeachment to the chamber on April 10 and urging him to hold a trial “promptly.”
“As Speaker of the United States House of Representatives and Impeachment Managers, we plan to introduce duly passed articles of impeachment regarding Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas when the Senate returns on April 10, 2024. I am writing this letter to urge you to promptly schedule a trial in this matter,” Johnson wrote, along with the 11 Republicans chosen to serve as impeachment managers.
