Biden retaliates against TX defending its border by attacking its natural gas industry, punishing Texas schoolchildren in process

WASHINGTON, DC- Joe Biden’s war against the state of Texas was magnified this week after the administration decided to stop approval of Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) exports. Some Texas officials view the move as “retaliation” against Gov. Greg Abbott for defying the administration over its support of an invasion at the southern border, Breitbart News reported. 

After the decision, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham called the Biden administration’s decision “more like retaliation than a sound policy decision,” saying he only did it because “Texas took a bold stand in defending our border against foreign invaders.” 

On January 26, Biden announced he was putting a “temporary pause on pending decisions of Liquified Natural Gas exports,” as reported at the time by Breitbart. That happened to be the same date the Department of Homeland Security issued as a deadline for Texas to allow federal access to Shelby Park in Eagle Pass, Texas.

That area has been a point of contention between Texas officials and the federal government since the state seized the park earlier in January and banned federal law enforcement officials from entering. Thus far, Texas has refused to comply citing the invasion of its border. 

“Texas is the largest exporter of natural gas in the nation and the third in the world,” Buckingham told Breitbart Texas. “This reckless federal decision made merely a day after Texas took a bold stand in defending our border against foreign invaders appears more like retaliation than a sound policy decision.” 

As Texas General Land Office Commissioner, Buckingham oversees over 13 million acres of land rich in minerals. Texas uses severance taxes levied on that land to fund education, hence some saying the Biden administration is punishing kids in his process. 

“I will always defend Texas’ right to energy independence and stand up for the hardworking families and countless Texas schoolchildren this move will harm,” Buckingham continued. 

In justifying his decision, Biden claimed the action was taken to align with his policies to “tackle the climate crisis at home and abroad.” 

“While MAGA Republicans willfully deny the urgency of the climate crisis, condemning the American people to a dangerous future, my administration will not be complacent,” Biden stated. “We will not cede to special interests.” 

However, a recent White House press release quoted those viewed as leaders in the climate and environmental justice arenas, including Ben Jealous, executive director of the Sierra Club and former president of the NAACP. 

Jealous claimed in his statement that “the administration is listening to calls [from special interests] to break America’s reliance on dirty fossil fuels [natural gas is one of the cleanest forms of energy] and secure a livable future for us all.”

Margie Alt, director of the Climate Action Campaign, issued a statement claiming that “the decision to pause the permitting for a massive extracted gas export facility to require the consideration of its climate impacts is exactly the kind of leadership we need from President Biden. Burning more extracted gas makes climate change worse and intensifies extreme weather disasters.” 

Former Vice President Al Gore, founder of The Climate Reality Project, who has become a multi-millionaire pushing the climate change narrative, also praised Biden. “If we want to enhance energy security, create jobs, and prevent environmental injustice," he said, "we should be making investments in cheaper, readily available renewable energy, not dirty and damaging fossil fuels.” 

Remember, Gore predicted most coastal American cities would be underwater due to melting polar ice caps by the mid-2010s. 

Manish Bapna, President and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council:

‘Let’s be clear about the public interest. It’s time to phase out fossil fuels. That’s what the United States and 197 other countries agreed to do last month in Dubai. That’s what the science demands…”  

Meanwhile, in Texas, last year, Buckingham certified an island in the Rio Grande, Fronton Island, as belonging to the State of Texas. That allowed the Texas Military Department and the Department of Public Safety to clear the island, thus removing a critical asset from drug and human smuggling operations carried out by Mexican drug cartels, Breitbart Texas reported. 

“Fronton Island, known as the single most dangerous spot on the southern border, is cleared to patrol,” Buckingham said at the time. 

“For decades, Fronton Island has been utilized by the Mexican Drug Cartels as a refuge when fleeing from rival cartels and the Mexican Military,” Texas DPS spokesman Lieutenant Chris Olivarez told Breitbart Texas. “Still, it has primarily been used to facilitate transnational criminal activity involving human and drug smuggling.” 

“With the authorization through Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, the State of Texas has taken over the island by clearing and fortifying it, allowing DPS and the National Guard to gain operational control in preventing cross-border crime,” Olivarez stated. 

The standoff between Texas and the feds began in January, when Abbott authorized the Texas Military Department, under the auspices of Operation Lone Star, to seize Shelby Park, which is owned by the City of Eagle Pass, and eject Border Patrol agents, who were using the park to allow foreign invaders into the country. 

During the month of December, agents in the Del Rio Sector apprehended 71,000 illegals, which set a monthly record, Breitbart Texas reported at the time. In just the two weeks surrounding the Christmas and New Year holidays, agents in that sector apprehended nearly 35,000 illegals (2,500 per day), as also reported in Breitbart Texas. 

After Texas officials ejected CBP agents, the Department of Homeland Security sent two letters to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton demanding Texas allow border patrol agents into the park. Texas told the DHS to pound sand, and they doubled down by placing additional razor wire barriers in the park. 

Last year, the Biden Administration, via the EPA, attempted to redesignate the Permian Basin in Texas as well. 

“The Permian Basin is the crown jewel of Texas’ mighty oil and gas industry, and the State of Texas will do whatever it takes to protect its production and the hundreds of thousands of good-paying energy jobs in our state,” Abbott said at the time. “While it is encouraging news that the Biden Administration has backed down on this disastrous plan, Texas remains ready to fight any job-killing attacks on our critical oil and gas industry. Texas is–and always will be–a pro-energy state, and we will keep a watchful eye for any potential changes or attacks by President Biden that could jeopardize affordable energy prices and the livelihoods of hardworking Texans.” 

Todd Staples, president of the Texas Oil and Gas Association, said the energy sector continues to drive the Texas economy, noting the industry added over 15,000 jobs to the Texas economy last year. 

“2023 was an incredibly solid year for upstream oil and gas job growth, despite global economic uncertainties that have held back strong price signals, and the year finished with a continued upward push on job expansion,” Staple said in a written statement. “These oil and gas jobs, along with the associated activity in local communities that generates tremendous growth opportunities, benefit every part of Texas and continue to be the cornerstone of the Texas economy.”