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Abbott Warns State and Local Officials
in Illinois to Get Out of Texas Guard Way
Capitol Inside
October 7, 2025
Governor Greg Abbott has become the first governor in the Lone Star State to sanction the use of military troops against fellow Americans in nearly 200 years with his vigorous support for the Texas National Guard's deployment to Chicago and other cities controlled by Democrats.
With an eye on a potential White House run, Abbott eagerly authorized President Donald Trump to call up 400 Texas Guard members on Sunday for shuffling to the Windy City, Portland and locations in other blue states where protests have erupted over the federal government's immigration crackdown. Texas troops arrived in the Chicago area on Tuesday.
"The elite Texas National Guard are on the ground and ready to go," Abbott declared on Tuesday afternoon in a post on X. "They are putting America first by ensuring that the federal government can safely enforce federal law."
Abbott
has effectively decided that he and Trump - working as a duo - are more capable of ensuring the public safety in selective destinations than local and state elected leaders like those in Chicago where they insist the Texas Guard isn't needed or welcome.
Abbott's counterpoint in Illinois - Democratic Governor JB Pritzker - has sued to block the spreading of troops from Texas across the nation's third largest city in a maneuver he and other Democrats there and beyond are blasting as a chest-beating publicity stunt by Republicans trying to feed on the dissent. Abbott has show no concern on the out-of-state deployment's massive potential to backfire on an array of fronts. But the Texas governor has put a giant target on his own state's back - and he could expect serious repercussions if Democrats seized the U.S. House majority next year and took the White House back in 2028.
Abbott warned on Sunday that officials in Illinois would have to try to uphold law and order his way or stand down to the soldiers he sent there from Texas.
"You can either fully enforce protection for federal employees or get out of the way and let Texas Guard do it," Abbott said in a social media post that appeared to be aimed at Pritzker. "No Guard can match the training, skill, and expertise of the Texas National Guard. They defend our country with pride."
Abbott declined to cite the source of the claim on the Texas Guard's superiority. He asserted that thousands of Texas National Guard members are stationed at the Rio Grande with the border security mission he's had under way for the past four years.
more to come ...
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