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AUSTIN, Texas – Gloves are removed in a battle between Governor Greg Abbott and President Joe Biden. Just this week, the president and governor exchanged taunts about the best approach to contain the coronavirus. But their ongoing struggle over immigration issues remains at the center of the ongoing political struggle.
What you need to know
- The president and governor exchanged taunts about the best approach to contain the coronavirus
- Biden called on the Republican governors of Texas and Florida on Tuesday for refusing to allow local mask or vaccine mandates
- Abbott remains unwilling to reverse its stance on personal responsibility
- New coronavirus cases continue to rise in Texas and Florida, where a third of all infections have been confirmed nationwide
Biden called on the Republican governors of Texas and Florida on Tuesday for refusing to allow local mask or vaccine mandates to contain the renewed COVID rampage sparked by the Delta variant.
“I tell these governors, please help. If you don’t want to help, at least get out of the way, ”Biden said.
New coronavirus cases continue to rise in Texas and Florida, where a third of all infections have been confirmed nationwide. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said they offered help to public health officials in both states.
“There are leaders who won’t stand up and stand in the way of Americans – businesses and others – trying to save lives and stop the spread of Delta,” said Psaki. “We will continue to challenge that.” This is not meant to be partial. It is not meant politically. It is only intended to convey that there is more need for action in some parts of the country. “
But Abbott remains unwilling to reverse his stance on personal responsibility.
“There will be no governments in Texas in the future that impose shutdowns or mask requirements. Everyone already knows what to do. Anyone can voluntarily carry out the mandates that are safest for them, their families and their business, ”said Abbott on Wednesday at the National Convention of the Asian American Hotel Owners Association in Dallas.
It wasn’t the first time Abbott had clashed with Democrats at the helm of the federal government. When Abbott was attorney general for Texas under the Obama administration, he notoriously said, “I go to the office, sue the federal government, and go home.”
“It has historically been that as many Texas politicians made their bones as they truly became Republican Party icons, including Greg Abbott. I would say especially Greg Abbott, “said Brandon Rottinghaus, professor of political science at the University of Houston.
Democrats in the White House and in the state of Texas are also pulling across the border. In a big win for Biden’s Justice Department this week, a federal judge temporarily blocked Abbott’s executive order that would have allowed state soldiers to stop any vehicle they suspect is transporting migrants who pose a risk for the transmission of COVID-19 .
“What I do is what the governors are empowered to do, and it is the safety of the people of their state while holding the Biden government accountable,” Abbott said shortly after the federal judge’s decision on Fox News came down.
Abbott is up for re-election next year and has strong support from former President Donald Trump. Even so, he is already facing two main challengers.
Rottinghaus said no Texan politician lost his re-election by running against a Democrat who heads the White House.
“The goal is for Texas Republican politicians to say, ‘Texas should take the lead, the federal government is effectively in their way,’ and these are the elements of friction that create an inability to move forward, but favors, at least for now Republican politician with Republican voters, “he said.
Rottinghaus said that where there was a dispute between the state and the federal government, it would eventually be sorted out in court. That means taxpayers will have to pay the bill for the legal fees and it would take up to months to see what gets resolved.
“There has to be accommodation, there has to be a working arrangement,” he said. “When politics gets in the way, it becomes more difficult to implement the policy.”
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