Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt, the Republican chairman of the National Governors Association (NGA), on Thursday spoke out against the deployment of the Texas National Guard to Illinois, calling the move a clear violation of faith in “states’ rights.”
In An interview with The New York Times On Thursday, Stitt said he was surprised that Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R). sent army Over the objections of the state’s governor, JB Pritzker (D) of Illinois said he thinks this is the wrong approach.
“I was surprised that Governor Abbott sent troops from Texas to Illinois,” Stitt told the Times. “Abbott and I sued the Biden administration when the shoe was on the other foot and the Biden administration was trying to force us to vaccinate all of our troops and mandate masks across the country.”
“As a Federalist believer, one governor against another governor, I don’t think that’s the right way to approach this,” Stitt said.
By Wednesday night, about 200 Texas National Guard troops and 300 Illinois National Guard troops had been activated in the Greater Chicago area. an update From US Northern Command.
Stitt stressed that he supports President Trump’s goal of ensuring “law and order” in Democratic-run cities, as well as the president’s effort to protect Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. But the governor said he is concerned about the precedent the deployment could set and how a future president of another party might take advantage of that tool.
“We believe in the federal system — that’s states’ rights,” Stitt said. “Oklahomans would be shocked if Pritzker in Illinois sent troops to Oklahoma during the Biden administration.”
Pritzker and California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) has threatened He would have to leave the NGA if the association did not come out publicly against the Texas Army deployment. But Stitt said that’s not the organization’s responsibility.
“The NGA is an educational organization under IRS code,” he said. “And that’s why we won’t get into politics. That’s not our path.”
Stitt said he has not raised his concerns about the troop deployment with Abbott, but added, “I’m sure it will come up,” when they see each other in a rivalry football game in Dallas this weekend.
Stitt told the Times that he and Abbott have a good relationship.
Stitt said, “I will send troops to the southern border at his request, whenever he wants, and I know he will do the same for me.”
The Hill has contacted Abbott’s office for comment.
