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.
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.
