(The Hill) — Republican Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, head of the National Governors Association (NGA), voiced his disapproval of the Texas National Guard’s deployment to Illinois on Thursday, deeming it a breach of the principle of “states’ rights.”
During a Thursday chat with the New York Times, Stitt expressed his surprise at Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) decision to send troops to Illinois despite Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker’s (D) objections, arguing that it’s not the right course of action.
“I didn’t expect Governor Abbott to dispatch troops from Texas to Illinois,” Stitt remarked to the NYT. “Abbott and I had previously challenged the Biden administration when they pressured us to vaccinate all soldiers and enforce masking nationwide.”
“As a federalist believer, one governor against another governor, I don’t think that’s the right way to approach this,” Stitt added.
By Wednesday evening, around 200 Texas National Guard soldiers and 300 Illinois National Guard soldiers had been mobilized in the Chicago area, as noted in an update from the U.S. Northern Command.
Stitt further mentioned his backing of President Trump’s mission to maintain “law and order” in cities governed by Democrats and his support for the safeguarding of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. However, he expressed concern about the potential precedent and how it might be exploited by a future president from a different party.
“Our belief in a federalist system revolves around states’ rights,” Stitt stated. “Oklahomans would be outraged if Pritzker from Illinois deployed troops to Oklahoma during the Biden administration.”
Pritzker and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) have threatened to leave the NGA if the association did not come out publicly against the Texas troop deployment. But Stitt said that’s not the organization’s responsibility.
“The N.G.A. is an educational organization under I.R.S. code,” he said. “And so we’re not going to be weighing into the politics. That’s not our lane.”
Stitt said he has not raised his concerns about the troop deployment with Abbott but added, “I’m sure it’ll come up,” when they see each other this weekend at a rivalry football game in Dallas.
Stitt told the Times that he and Abbott have a good relationship.
“I would send troops to the southern border on his request, anytime he wanted them, and I know he would do the same for me,” Stitt said.
The Hill has reached out to Abbott’s office for comment.
