President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have not reached out to two Republican governors in border states to address the ongoing migrant crisis, according to reports.
“In a word, no,” Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said to Fox Business anchor Maria Bartiromo who asked him in a recent interview whether Biden or Harris had contacted him about the crisis.
“Very different from the prior administration,” Abbott added, referring to former President Donald Trump
A spokesman for Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey also expressed frustration that Biden or Harris had not reached out.
“The administration has not reached out to us on this issue,” C.J. Karamargin said in a statement to RealClearPolitics, calling the Biden administration “divorced from reality” on the crisis.
The White House defended their outreach to Republican governors, arguing in a statement to Real Clear Politics that administration staff was “in close touch with leaders across both Arizona and Texas” including “governors and members of their team.”
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey met with White House staff in Washington, DC, in April, the report notes, but his communications team noted it was the governor that reached out for the meeting.
Biden also spoke with Gov. Greg Abbott and met him in Texas during the crippling ice storms in February, but he does not appear to have personally reached out to address the migrant crisis.
The White House continues denying there is a border crisis, as press secretary Jen Psaki referred to it as a “dynamic and evolving challenge.”
“[T]he president has a plan and we’re working on implementing it,” she said Tuesday during the White House press briefing.