There’s a provision tucked into President Donald Trump’s broadly ranging “big, beautiful bill” that could see Texas get billions of dollars in funds that it spent on the state’s border security under the Biden administration.
The legislation earmarked $12 billion for a grant program allowing states to be reimbursed for costs they incurred trying to stem the flow of illegal immigration during the Democratic administration.
The measure was added to the bill hours before the final vote – but Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, the former chairman of the House Homeland Security and Foreign Affairs Committees, told Fox News Digital it was a product of months of negotiation.
“Early on, [Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green, R-Tenn., and I were discussing reconciliation going through the Homeland Security Committee. And, you know, there was about $70 billion for the border,” McCaul said. “Texas bore the brunt of the federal mission the last four years and deserves to be reimbursed. And so he agreed, had a conversation with Governor Abbott, and he agreed.”
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Rep. Michael McCaul spoke with Fox News Digital about the weeks of talks it took to secure billions for states that incurred border-related costs during the Biden administration. (Getty Images)
While the text does not name Texas specifically, Fox News Digital was told that the measure’s inclusion was primarily sought by the Lone Star state’s congressional delegation.
The state of Texas, Fox News Digital was told, had incurred just over $11 billion in costs from Gov. Greg Abbott’s efforts to keep the border in his state secure.
“The fact of the matter is, when you look at the costs that were borne, Texas had the lion’s share of [the burden] carrying out the federal mission when the Biden administration completely failed to deliver on border security,” McCaul said. “My state built the border wall and built detention facilities. We bore a lot of costs.”
Operation Lone Star alone cost Texas $11.1 billion, according to The Texas Tribune.
Rather than add it to the initial text of the bill, McCaul said, leaders opted to include it in a “managers amendment” that was added on Wednesday night along with several other issues that lawmakers needed more time to negotiate.
“The legislative process, it’s something I’ve gotten to know over my 20 years and how to get things done up here. And I thought, you know, the way we worked it was strategically very smart,” McCaul said. “It’s going to the Senate now. And Senator Cornyn is going to take it up, be the champion in the Senate.”
The Texas Republican first met with Abbott and Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on the matter in early February, Fox News Digital was told.
McCaul said Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger also played a key role (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
McCaul said he also worked closely on the push with Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger, R-Texas, who told Fox News Digital that “no state” carried more financial burden from the border crisis than Texas.
“Texas spent $11.1 billion on border security, including $5.87 billion on personnel costs and $4.75 billion on border wall and barriers. When the federal government failed to secure our border and protect our communities, Texans stepped up,” Pfluger said.
Johnson, for his part, thanked McCaul for his efforts in a public written statement.
“Thanks to Rep. McCaul, states that stepped up to protect Americans in the face of Biden’s border catastrophe will be reimbursed for doing the work the Biden Administration refused to do,” the speaker said. “Had those patriotic governors not taken action and used the resources of their state, the devastation from Biden’s wide-open border would have been significantly worse.”
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Green said of the need for the measure, “In the absence of help from the Biden-Harris administration, states were forced to take extraordinary measures to mitigate the crisis and protect their communities by building barrier systems and increasing law enforcement activity.”
And while McCaul and his colleagues’ efforts in the House do not guarantee that Texas will ultimately see those funds, it puts them one step closer to success.
The measure is one aspect in a multi-trillion-dollar bill that Republicans are working to pass via the budget reconciliation process.
By lowering the Senate’s threshold for passage from 60 votes to 51, reconciliation enables the party in power to pass certain fiscal legislation while completely sidelining the minority – in this case, Democrats.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s Operation Lone Star cost Texas over $11 billion (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)
Trump directed Republicans to use reconciliation to advance his policies on taxes, immigration, energy, defense, and the national debt.
The Senate and House must pass identical versions of the bill before it gets to Trump’s desk.
McCaul told Fox News Digital that he was confident the measure would stay in the Senate bill after conversations with the Trump administration on the matter.
“I anticipate it will go forward,” McCaul said. “I’m, just proud that we were able to get this done. I’m very proud of what my state did to stop the flow of illegals and dangerous actors coming into the country.”
When reached for comment, Abbott told Fox News Digital, “This is a national issue that Texas was proud to address, and we are grateful for the allocation that reduces the financial burden that Texas incurred.”
