Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to meet with President Trump to discuss border security
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is set to discuss border security with President Trump Wednesday afternoon, the White House announced early Wednesday morning.
The governor posted on the platform X Wednesday morning, "Looking forward to meeting with President Trump today. Earlier this morning, I spoke with Tom Homan about immigration enforcement strategies. Today, and the coming days, should be great for Texas."
During an interview with CBS News Texas Monday morning, Abbott didn't mention he was going to meet with the president. Sources familiar with the situation told CBS News Texas this trip came together very quickly.
The governor said he will be heading to Washington next week to make his case for Congress to reimburse Texas for the $11 billion it has spent to secure the border. Abbott said that the president and key Republicans on House committees support his request. Sources familiar with the situation told CBS News Texas that the trip is still planned for next week.
Earlier this week, Abbott signed an agreement with the Trump administration that would for the first time grant the Texas National Guard arrest powers when migrants cross into Texas illegally.
The governor explained what led to the agreement: "The Trump administration reached out to see if we'd be interested in doing that and I immediately said yes. For me, the National Guard has been down on the border for years now under the Biden administration. But they did not have the full authority of the federal government immigration officers had. Now they do because of this agreement." Abbott said this means the U.S. will have a "far more robust response" to secure the border.
The governor's meeting at the White House comes on the same day the Republican-majority Texas Senate is expected to pass a school choice bill, one of Abbott's top legislative priorities this session. The governor told CBS News Texas that he's optimistic this is going to pass this year because he believes he has the votes in the House this time, unlike two years ago when it was rejected.
Under Senate Bill 2, the state will spend $1 billion to allow some students to attend private school. Students accepted into the program would get $2,000 per year. But if they're enrolled at an accredited private school, they'll get $10,000 a year, while students with disabilities will receive $11,500.
Democrats have sharply criticized the legislation, calling it a "voucher scam" and "welfare for the wealthy." Senate Republicans have said they want to give preference to students with disabilities and those in low-income families and who attend low-performing public schools.
There's a new Speaker of the House, Dustin Burrows, R-Lubbock, who controls when legislation hits the House floor. The governor was asked how much pressure he is placing on Burrows to get this across the finish line in the House: "I feel very confident it's going to pass in the House. Speaker Burrows, every time I've talked to him, he says school choice is going to pass. I feel good about the Speaker's perspective. I worked closely with Representative Brad Buckley who will lead the charge in the Texas House. He feels very confident about it."
Once the Senate passes the school choice bill, it will head to the House. In an interview with CBS News Texas last week, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick said that the bill would head over to the House "like a rocket ship."
The leading Republican on education in the Texas House, Rep. Brad Buckley, said the House will file its own bill to consider. It hasn't been introduced just yet and may not be until next week. Republicans have said the legislation will be similar to the Senate's version.
