In a plot twist nobody asked for but everyone expected, Gov. Greg Abbott has gone from “states’ rights forever!” to “yes sir, Mr. President!” in record time. Just last year, Abbott warned Biden that moving Air National Guard units to Space Force would be a “dangerous precedent” and an “intolerable threat” to state authority. Fast-forward one news cycle, and Abbott is happily helping Donald Trump ship Texas Guard troops to Illinois and Oregon—two states begging him to mind his own business—because now, apparently, federal overreach is good, actually.
Abbott insists this isn’t hypocrisy, it’s just “public safety,” which is politician-speak for “I like this president more.” Constitutional experts politely call his flip-flop “risky” and “dangerous,” which is academia’s way of saying, “What the hell are you doing, man?” Even other Republican governors are side-eyeing him—Oklahoma’s Kevin Stitt basically said, “Don’t try that nonsense here.”
But Abbott’s newfound passion for big, bossy federal power doesn’t stop there. He’s approved voter data handovers, helped mid-decade redistricting to juice GOP seats, and generally turned Texas into Trump’s favorite laboratory for executive branch experimentation. The same guy who once wrote a 92-page manifesto about Washington meddling is now letting D.C. root around in Texas elections like it’s a clearance bin at Ross.
And here’s the kicker: despite Abbott’s full loyalty pledge, the Texas Guard troops aren’t even deployed. Court rulings have them stuck in bureaucratic limbo—some sent home, others sitting around Fort Bliss waiting for orders that may never come. Nothing says “strong leadership” like soldiers cooling their heels because the courts think your plan is unconstitutional.
Abbott may rediscover his deep, spiritual connection to state sovereignty the moment a Democrat returns to the White House… but by then, the powers he willingly handed over might not be coming back. Funny how that works.
If states’ rights depend entirely on who’s sitting in the Oval Office… were they really “rights” or just vibes?
https://www.texastribune.org/2025/11/24/greg-abbott-trump-presidential-power-state-rights/
