The Trump administration paused Big Bend National Park construction. Here's what Texas leaders are told is next
After the uproar more than a week ago involving the Trump administration's border-related construction in Big Bend National Park, the Commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Rodney Scott, halted all work temporarily.
Videos showing contractors using bulldozers angered local residents, Democrats, and a few Republicans.
The CBP previously said it is not building a 30-foot border wall or installing stadium lighting in the park, and instead, was building a new road, improving existing roads in the park, and building some vehicle barriers.
Last week, Texas Governor Greg Abbott took credit for the administration's pause on construction, saying he spoke with the Department of Homeland Security Secretary, Markwayne Mullin, a former Republican Senator from Oklahoma.
Eye on Politics reporter Jack Fink asked the Governor about this in Fort Worth.
Abbott said that his conversations with the Secretary of Homeland Security date back several months.
"The conversation was always along the lines," said Abbott. "They would not be building any border wall. They would not be building any fence. And so when I saw those bulldozers, I called the secretary. I said, 'Hey, what's going on here?' And he recommitted very strongly. They were not going to build any border wall or any fence."
The CBP Commissioner met with a variety of local elected leaders from Big Bend.
Among them was Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland, a Republican who used to patrol the area and who previously worked for the Commissioner.
He discussed what the Commissioner committed to in terms of work along the border.
"I'm confident that we will see some of those plans change as far as upgrading the existing roads, because not only is that good for the Park Service, for law enforcement, even for those that come to visit the national park," said Cleveland.
"He's committed to exploring those roads, making sure that they're not duplicating or just creating a new road that really won't serve any purpose."
Some groups have filed lawsuits and emergency injunctions to keep the government from doing construction projects in the national park.
Another ongoing conversation has been Abbott's attempts to get the federal government to "reimburse" the state for funding spent towards border security.
"I did also have the chance to visit with him about refunding the state of Texas, and we made great progress on achieving exactly that with hopefully an announcement to be coming sometime in the future," said Abbott.