AUSTIN, Texas — Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) has found a reliable ally in Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) as the two Republicans lock horns with President Joe Biden over the border crisis.

Abbott, who has unleashed state soldiers and police to assist with border security in a multibillion-dollar initiative known as Operation Lone Star, is tied up in multiple lawsuits with the Justice Department. Meanwhile, Johnson refused to move on a White House-brokered border deal last month, reasoning that it would give political cover to Biden without solving the crisis.