Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt, a conservative Republican, criticized the deployment of Texas National Guardsmen to Illinois over the objection of the state’s governor, saying it violated federalist principles.
Stitt’s comments come as Democratic governors, led by Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, have condemned the decision by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to send troops to Illinois at President Donald Trump’s request as unacceptable and have questioned why Republican governors are not speaking out against it.
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Pritzker and Newsom have gone as far as to threaten to leave the National Governors Association ― long seen as a bastion of sober-minded bipartisanship ― if the group does not condemn the deployment, which is purportedly aimed at cracking down on violent crime in Chicago. Stitt is the chair of the NGA.
“We believe in the federalist system — that’s states’ rights,” he told the New York Times. “Oklahomans would lose their mind if Pritzker in Illinois sent troops down to Oklahoma during the Biden administration.”
Stitt’s comments are both a high-profile departure from relative GOP unity on the issue and also a sign that the nation’s governors have at least a small chance of forming a united front on protecting states’ rights.
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“I was surprised that Governor Abbott sent troops from Texas to Illinois,” Stitt told the paper. “Abbott and I sued the Biden administration when the shoe was on the other foot and the Biden administration was trying to force us to vaccinate all of our soldiers and force masks across the country.”
Still, he said the NGA would not take a stance on the issue, saying the group would avoid “weighing into the politics.”
Stitt made clear to the paper he still supported Trump’s goals of combating violent crime in cities and aggressively deploying Immigration and Customs Enforcement to deport undocumented immigrants, but said the president should have moved to federalize the Illinois guard before asking Abbott to send Texan troops to the state.
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So far, Stitt is the only Republican governor to speak out about the issue, while Democrats have been united in opposition. More than 20 Democratic-led states filed an amicus brief in federal court on Wednesday morning arguing the Chicago deployment was illegal.
“The way the president has chosen to deploy the Guard in other states — and, in at least one case, deploy the Guard from one state into another — is extremely dangerous,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Thursday morning.
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Stitt’s criticism of Abbott comes at a slightly awkward moment ― the two governors are due to see each other on Saturday, when the University of Texas and the University of Oklahoma football teams meet in Dallas for their annual “Red River Rivalry” game.