Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's short-lived policy of requiring state troopers to conduct secondary inspections of trucks crossing into Texas from Mexico cost the United States almost $9 billion in just 10 days, Axios reported Tuesday.
The policy, which Abbott enacted on April 6, snarled truck traffic at the border and led to a protest by Mexican truckers that stopped trade at some major crossings. On April 15, Abbott ended the double inspections, for which he'd received withering criticism from both sides of the border and the aisle, after striking deals with the governors of the four Mexican states that border Texas.
Per Axios, Abbott implemented the policy "in response to the Biden administration's announcement that it would lift Title 42," a Trump-era public health policy that denied migrants entry into the United States.
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An analysis by the Perryman Group showed that the U.S. lost an estimated $8.97 billion in GDP due to delays at the border, while Texas alone lost $4.23 billion.
Beto O'Rourke, the Democrat contesting Abbott's bid for a third term as governor, slammed Abbott for his costly gambit. "Abbott jacked up inflation, increased prices at our stores, hurt Texas businesses, killed jobs, and shut down billions of dollars in trade ... Abbott says this financial pain is necessary. I say electoral consequences are necessary," he tweeted Tuesday.
The Cook Political Report rates the Texas governor race as "Likely R."
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