Convenience Big Store: Greg Abbott calls Biden border lawsuits 'traitorship'

NEW YEAR SALE: Only 99¢ for Access!
Act Now

Mounting border legal battles

Gov. Greg Abbott didn't quite call Joe Biden a traitor.

But he's getting close.

During a campaign rally on Friday in Deer Park to help State Rep. Briscoe Cain's re-election, Abbott listed out all of the legal fights he is having with the Biden administration over securing the border.

That includes the Biden administration suing Texas over a new deportation law, which is set to take effect in March. Earlier, the Biden administration sued over the floating buoy barrier Abbott placed in the Rio Grande without federal approval. Meanwhile, Abbott has sued the Biden administration for cutting razor wire along the border that Texas deployed to stop migrants from entering the U.S.

He told a crowd of more than 200 people that it is crazy that Biden is suing him for trying to protect the United States.

"It seems like it's traitorship," Abbott said.

This comes days after Abbott said he has done everything he can to stop illegal immigration short of shooting migrants because the Biden administration would "charge us with murder."

Jeremy Wallace, Texas politics reporter

jeremy.wallace@houstonchronicle.com

Who's up, who's down

Up: Briscoe Cain.

The Deer Part State Representative is facing a primary challenge this year, but Abbott's appearance and endorsement were unequivocal on Friday. While endorsements aren't always important, Cain said Abbott's approval numbers and name identification are unmatched in Texas and will surely help his re-election. "I need Briscoe Cain back with me in the Texas House of Representatives," Abbott said.

Down: Temperatures.

With below-freezing temperatures blanketing the state in the next few days, the Texas electricity grid gets yet another big test. ERCOT, the state's grid monitor, has issued an official Weather Watch, acknowledging the expected high demand, but also saying they expect the grid conditions to remain normal.

What do you think? Hit reply and let me know.

What else is going on in Texas

Snow falls as migrants continue to be housed by the city in 'warming' buses in the 800 block of South Desplaines Street during a winter storm Friday, Jan. 12, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Photo by: Erin Hooley/Associated Press

Illinois governor asks Abbott to stop migrant busing during winter storm

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker said the trips would prove "life-threatening to every one of the arrivals" if they continued during the storm.

Texas Department of Public Safety officers guard an entrance to Shelby Park on Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. Gov. Greg Abbott signed an emergency declaration allowing state troopers to take over the park, located on the banks of the Rio Grande, without permission from the city of Eagle Pass, according to its Mayor Rolando Salinas.

Photo by: Sam Owens/San Antonio Express-News

Texas blocking Border Patrol from key border stretch, DOJ says

Soldiers were preventing federal officials from reaching a key staging area and blocking them from using the only boat ramp for miles along the Rio Grande.

Republican presidential candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, center, accompanied by his press secretary Bryan Griffin, right, departs after speaking at a Northside Conservatives Club Meeting at The District in Ankeny, Iowa, Friday, Jan. 12, 2024.

Photo by: Andrew Harnik, AP

Iowa campaign events getting canceled as cold snap hits Midwest

Campaign events are falling as swiftly as the Iowa snow as wintry weather hampers both Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis as they clamor for support in the days before Monday's leadoff presidential caucuses.

President Joe Biden talks about his economic agenda, during a visit to the Nowhere Coffee shop, Friday, Jan. 12, 2024, in Emmaus, Pa.

Photo by: Evan Vucci, AP

Biden campaigns in small businesses during stop in Pennyslvania

President Joe Biden made a trio of stops in Emmaus, Pennsylvania to tout the value of small businesses and promote his economic record.

Pick of the day

Jeremy Wallace and Scott Braddock talk all things Texas politics on the Texas Take podcast, released every Friday.

Photo by: Nadya Hassan

We are back with another fresh edition of the Texas Take Podcast. Scott Braddock of Quorumreport.com and I have the audio of Gov. Greg Abbott's comments about shooting migrants, U.S. Rep. Chip Roy's frustrations with House Speaker Mike Johnson and what U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz had to say about former President Donald Trump being kicked off the ballot in Colorado and Maine.

What else I'm reading

Good news for Texas military bases as Congress looks to avoid a government shutdown later this month that could have stopped paychecks to soldiers. The Hill reported that House Speaker Mike Johnson said he is sticking by a top-line spending deal that he struck with congressional Democrats and the White House this month amid calls from hard-line conservatives to scrap the plan and come up with an alternative.