This is Garrison Hardie with your CrossPolitic Daily News Brief for Friday, January 26th, 2024.

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https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/4428905-gop-governors-abbott-border-security-immigration/

GOP governors back Abbott in border standoff

Republican governors are backing Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) in his standoff against the federal government over border authority.

On Tuesday, the Texas National Guard appeared to ignore a Supreme Court decision and continued building razor wire barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border, preventing the federal Border Patrol from doing their jobs.

In a statement Wednesday, Abbott justified the actions by claiming his authority to combat an “invasion” of the state “supersedes” federal law.

GOP Govs. Kevin Stitt of Oklahoma, Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Ron DeSantis of Florida, Glenn Youngkin of Virginia and Brian Kemp of Georgia have all said they support Abbott’s actions.

“If the Constitution really made states powerless to defend themselves against an invasion, it wouldn’t have been ratified in the first place and Texas would have never joined the union when it did,” DeSantis said on X, formerly Twitter. “TX is upholding the law while Biden is flouting it.”

Youngkin added that the Biden administration “has turned every state into a border state,” and that Abbott is doing what the border officials “refuse to do to secure our border.”

Stitt, Noem and Kemp also said their states “stand with” Texas.

The federal government has claimed in court filings that the Texas National Guard has physically prevented the Border Patrol from doing its job on certain parts of the Rio Grande, as well as blocked off portions of the border previously used to process migrants.

The claim that Texas officials can supersede federal authority has sparked calls from Democrats for President Biden to nationalize the Texas National Guard and force them to follow the court’s decision and federal law.

Democratic Texas Reps. Joaquin Castro and Greg Casar have advocated for nationalizing the state guard.

Abbott’s statement Wednesday specifically claims the federal government has “broken the compact” with the states, justifying ignoring federal law and the Supreme Court.

The so-called “compact theory” is a rejected idea of state supremacy used to justify the secession of Confederate states during the Civil War. The Supreme Court repeatedly shot down the legal theory in the early years of the U.S., when it was first proposed to nullify federal legislation during former President John Adams’s time in office.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-ags-battle-blue-state-push-to-shutter-largest-ammo-manufacturer-to-punish-second-amendment-rights

GOP AGs take aim at Dem plea for Biden to shut down critical ammo manufacturer

Every republican attorney general in the country blasted their Democrat counterparts for attempting to shutter an ammunition factory in Missouri, a letter sent to the White House Wednesday revealed.

In a letter obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital, all 28 GOP attorneys general asked President Biden and White House Office of Gun Violence Prevention director Stefanie Feldman to disregard their Democrat colleagues' request to end commercial sales from Lake City Army Ammunition Plant, one of the country’s largest ammo manufacturers.

Democrats had previously asked the administration to investigate the contracting and manufacturing practices of the plant after a New York Times report alleged that "military-grade rounds" were sold commercially and were connected to mass shootings.

But the Republicans say the Democrats’ letter contained a "litany of errors." "Perhaps those States should focus more on prosecuting crime to stop mass shootings—rather than trying to stop lawful Americans’ use of guns and ammunition. Their tactic is an overt attempt to punish Americans’ exercise of their Second Amendment rights,

Among the list of "errors" the GOP AGs point out that their Democrat colleages allege that ammunition manufactured for "military use" does not belong in communities.

"First, the ammunition manufactured at Lake City and sold into the commercial market is not the primary rifle cartridge used by the United States military. The primary cartridge is proprietary to the Army and may not be sold commercially," the AGs note.

"Second, while the United States military purchases and uses a particular type of ammunition, that is not determinative as to whether it is "military ammunition" that should be banned for public use," they write.

"If the United States military using ammunition precluded that ammunition’s use by civilians, then other widely and commonly available ammunition, including 9mm and 12-gauge shotshells, would also be prohibited for public use," they argued, adding that Supreme Court precedent "does not support such an openly artificial distinction."

According to the state’s top prosecutors, Lake City only sells ammunition to commercial customers that is legal to manufacture, and it complies with all the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives’ (ATF) requirements.

The AGs argued that the Democrats’ efforts would undermine national security. "Gun control advocates are firing blanks when they contend that taxpayers are subsidizing mass shooters. They get causality backward. The law-abiding target shooters and gun owners who buy Lake City ammunition are subsidizing national defense and military readiness," they argue.

They note that the Defense Department "sought to avoid a situation when the military needs surge due to a real-world conflict, ammunition is not readily available," adding that ammunition availability requires facilities, production equipment, a skilled workforce, and supply chains to remain in constant operation.

"Machines and production cannot be turned on like the flip of a switch. It takes time to hire and train the highly skilled workers needed to operate production lines to manufacture the highest quality ammunition for U.S. warfighters. Commercial production has allowed Lake City, and its suppliers, to maintain steady labor, maximize equipment run time, ensure a stable supply base, and provide a level of readiness to the U.S. military that would not otherwise be available," they added.

The attorneys general also said that Lake City cannot halt commercial use without a "detrimental loss" to their communities and economy. If it stopped, the AGs allege it would result in an estimated loss of 500–700 jobs or 30%–45% of the skilled workforce now employed at Lake City and "countless more" throughout the supply chain.

Daily News Brief for Friday, January 26th, 2024

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