WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump hosted the governors of Texas and California, one a close ally and the other an frequent foe, for separate meetings at the White House on Wednesday. 

What You Need To Know

  • President Donald Trump hosted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, one a close ally and the other an frequent foe, for separate meetings at the White House on Wednesday
  • The Texas governor emerged from the West Wing announcing to reporters that he is asking the president for $11 billion in reimbursement for the state for the costs associated with responding to the “unprecedented illegal crossings” over the last four years during the Biden administration
  • At the same time, he said Texas can offer the federal government physical assets – listing part of the border wall, military bases and detention space, that adds up to billions of dollars in value – to address illegal immigration
  • Newsom and Trump met for over an hour and it comes as the Democratic governor is looking for assistance as Southern California recovers from devastating wildfires

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, who White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt described at Wednesday’s press briefing as a “great friend” who is leading a state that has been “on the front lines” of one of Trump’s most central issues, the border, sat down with the president first. He then attended a ceremony in the East Room in which Trump signed an executive order banning transgender people from competing in women's sporting events, which the Texas Republican said established a “common sense standard.” 

The Texas governor emerged from the West Wing announcing to reporters that he is asking the president for $11 billion in reimbursement for the state for the costs associated with responding to the “unprecedented illegal crossings” over the last four years during the Biden administration. 

“With regard to the president, we again talked about what was maybe the most pivotal issue in his campaign, the one that Americans wanted to make sure he got elected on, and that it was securing the border,” Abbott told reporters after the meeting. 

At the same time, he said Texas can offer the federal government physical assets – listing part of the border wall, military bases and detention space, that adds up to billions of dollars in value – to address illegal immigration. 

“This is, in a way, a real estate transaction, because Texas can transfer to the United States of America value of well over $5 or $6 billion of real assets on the ground that Texas put in place that will continue to secure the United States for decades to come,” the governor said. 

Specifically Abbott said that his state had completed about 50 miles of a border wall between Texas and Mexico with another 20 miles currently under construction. They are in the process, he said, of acquiring an additional 100 miles to build more. Abbott added that Texas has identified 4,000 jail cells that can be used as detention facilities.

The governor added that he would be back in Washington to talk more about his request with members of Congress. 

California’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, who served as a major campaign surrogate to the president’s 2024 rival Vice President Kamala Harris and who is often referred to as “Newscum” by Trump, sat down with the GOP commander in chief for over an hour on Wednesday. 

The pair, who have often found themselves feuding, appeared to put the heat aside less than two weeks ago when the freshly inaugurated president visited Los Angeles to tour wildfire damage, with the governor greeting him on the tarmac. 

Leavitt told reporters that the meeting showed Trump “is willing to work with anybody from blue states or red states to do what’s best for the American people.” 

“The president really enjoyed his trip to the Pacific Palisades last week, he felt very inspired by the frustration of the residents there and he has been wholeheartedly committed to ensuring that the water is flowing in California,” she added. 

Amid the fires and in their wake, the president has put blame for the flames that ravaged Southern California on Newsom and other state and local leaders, citing water and forest mismanagement. 

"The governor is focused on protecting people, not playing politics, and making sure firefighters have all the resources they need.” Newsom's communications director, Izzy Gardon, told Spectrum News in response at the time.

When the blazes broke out in the final days of former Democratic President Joe Biden’s time in office, the then-president announced that the federal government would cover 100% of the recovery cost for the first 180 days. Trump, however, has threatened to withhold aid if California doesn’t change its policies on water and voter ID requirements. 

Newsom on Wednesday also met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to advocate for disaster aid, according to his team. 

Over the weekend, Trump ordered the release of billions of gallons of water in the state.

Spectrum News' Cassie Semyon contributed to this report.