WASHINGTON — When it comes to border security, there is little daylight between President Donald Trump and Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Their partnership was on full display at the White House Wednesday when the governor paid a visit. Abbott said Texas is ready to do even more to help the president improve border security. Abbott is also seeking a multibillion-dollar reimbursement.

What You Need To Know

  • Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, met with President Donald Trump at the White House Wednesday to discuss their shared priorities, largely over border security and immigration enforcement

  • The governor offered up its multi-mile border wall, Texas-built military bases and 4,000 jail cells to assist the Trump administration's homeland security operations and said that altogether such assets equal up to $6 billion

  • Abbott requested the federal government reimburse Texas for $11 billion spend on border security since 2021

  • When asked if the president indicated he would take up the deal, Abbott said that is still to be determined and he is still having ongoing conversations with congressional leaders

Abbott was at the White House for some shared priorities with President Trump. Those included restricting the participation of transgender athletes in women’s sports to cracking down on border security and illegal immigration.

“A great friend of mine, he's really helped us at the border, done a great job,” Trump said of Abbott ahead of an executive order signing. 

Trump and Abbott had a closed-door meeting in the Oval Office to discuss their ongoing cooperation on the border. The governor told reporters afterward that he offered up more ways the Republican-led state can enforce Trump’s border agenda. 

“Texas built two military bases that can house 2,000 soldiers in one base, 400 soldiers in another base. I made sure the president knows that was available to him. I let the president know that we have identified 4,000 jail cells in the state of Texas that can be used as detention facilities, so we're just continuing to find ways we can assist the Trump administration in finally securing our border,” Abbott said. 

Those military bases are in Del Rio and Eagle Pass, and Abbott suggested they could be used by different agencies such as the military, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Border Patrol or other law enforcement. 

Abbott said all that plus the state’s construction of its own multi-mile border wall is equivalent to up to $6 billion in on-the-ground assets.

The governor has requested that the federal government reimburse Texas for the $11 billion it has spent since 2021 on border-related efforts under the Operation Lone Star initiative. 

“There are ways in which there's valuable real estate that can be transferred ownership from the state of Texas to ownership to the United States,” Abbott said. 

When asked if the president indicated he would take up the deal, Abbott said that is still to be determined.

Abbott said he also met with House Speaker Mike Johnson, as well as members of the Texas Republican Congressional delegation, which is the largest Republican delegation in the country. 

“There is no reason why it should be partisan,” Abbott said. 

“Texas law enforcement alone has seized more than enough fentanyl to kill every man, woman and child in the United States, Canada and Mexico combined. Here's the point: none of us know, and we'll never know, how many lives were saved because of Texas law enforcement getting that fentanyl off the streets before it got into other states, killing people across the country,” the governor continued. 

Abbott also met with Trump's "border czar," Tom Homan, whom the governor said he stays in touch with “quite often.” Abbott said he plans to come back to the nation’s capital next week.