Greg Abbott's Operation Lone Star border stunt balloons by another $500 million

This post was originally published on this site

Perhaps no other governor in modern U.S. history has racked up costlier political stunts than Texas’ Greg Abbott. The Republican’s since-rescinded policy that forced commercial vehicles to undergo redundant inspections that turned up nothing cost the state $4 billion in losses.

Then there’s the Operation Lone Star stunt, which has forced thousands of soldiers to the southern border to do a whole lot of nothing. Wait, that’s not entirely true, because some were deployed to stand guard outside the homes of rich Texans. “The Texas Military Department estimates that the current deployment of 10,000 National Guard members will cost an additional $2 billion a year, nearly five times what the Legislature had budgeted for the deployment,” The Texas Tribune, ProPublica, and The Marshall Project recently reported.

But TMD’s head told Republican officials that funds for the stunt were set to run out by the end of May. So they’re solving the problem they created in typical GOP fashion: by raiding federal funds. Specifically, COVID-19 funding.

“As foreshadowed by a top aide to Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this month, Texas will free up general-purpose state revenue that lawmakers previously budgeted for salaries of state workers by tapping federal coronavirus relief money,” The Dallas Morning News reports. Republican officials are taking more than $465 million in funds, with another $30 million to be yanked from a number of other state agencies.

“While some Democrats have fretted that Texas may be misusing federal COVID-19 relief aid to help finance Operation Lone Star, Abbott and top GOP lawmakers have denied that,” the report said. Of course, it’s not like Republican politicians would say, “You know what, we totally are misusing this funding!” But the report said there hasn’t been a peep from the Biden administration on this, and while Texas loves nothing more than suing the president over his lawful immigration policies, there’s been no court action here. “The series of bills Congress passed during the pandemic, signed by both Biden and former President Donald Trump, allowed states to use their federal funds for salaries of state public health and public safety employees,” the report noted.

But what about when it’s a political stunt that has likely violated federal and state laws? What about when it’s a political stunt where the governor’s office has fought public record requests because it would prove the whole thing is an expensive sham? What about when it’s a political stunt that has led to death? Late last month, a National Guard soldier deployed to the border by Abbott tragically drowned while attempting to aid migrants struggling in the Rio Grande.

But reports later revealed Spc. Bishop Evans lacked a flotation device. TMD did not order any until February, “11 months after the mission began in March 2021,” The Texas Tribune and Military Times reported. They had clearly still not arrived by the time that Evans died.

“For any member of our Guard or DPS [Department of Public Safety] who are sent to the border along the river to not be assigned basic, inexpensive safety equipment is unforgivable,” state Sen. Roland Gutierrez said in the report. He’s requesting more information into the lack of equipment. “We believe the death of Bishop Evans was avoidable if he had been provided with the proper equipment.” Maj. Gen. Thomas Suelzer said that Evans jumped in because he saw someone in crisis. “(He) was a human being,” he said according to the Associated Press. “He saw a human being drowning and he jumped in the water to save them.”

When previously confronted about the tragic deaths of other soldiers tied to the Operation Lone Star scheme, Abbott has blamed the president. He did it again following Evans’ death. “Is it too harsh to say that the Biden administration at least shoulders some responsibility for this young man’s death,” a Fox News personality asked Abbott. He agreed, “100%.” But the young man wasn’t there because the president sent him there; he was there because Greg Abbott sent him there.

Dozens of soldiers deployed under Abbott’s border scheme were sent to ranches owned by rich Texans

Abbott tries to weasel his way out of his Operation Lone Star mess by scapegoating department leader

Posted in Independent News