Nikki Haley Confronted on Whether Texas Can Secede From US

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley told CNN's Dana Bash on Sunday that "the Constitution doesn't allow for that" when asked about Texas' calls to secede from the U.S.

Bash asked Haley, "This week you told radio host Charlamagne that God that you believe states have the right to secede from the Union. Now, I know you've said that was unlikely, but this is a pretty important issue that I want you to clarify as someone who wants to be president. Do you really think individual states have the right to leave the U.S.A.?"

Haley responded: "Well he was talking about a conversation from a dozen, 13 years ago, during the time when I was a Tea Party candidate. States were very upset about government control. They were very upset about government spending. They were very upset about the fact that they weren't listening to the people. There had been a movement that Texas had wanted to secede from the Union and what I said is, when government stops listening let's remember states' rights matter."

The GOP candidate added: "No one is talking about seceding. That's not an issue at all."

The Context:

Haley was the governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and was a former United States ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration. She is now going head-to-head with former President Donald Trump in the Republican primary.

Calls for Texas' independence, a movement coined as "Texit," have recently grown as tensions rise between the state's governor, Greg Abbott, and the Biden administration over the situation at the southern border. Abbott has implemented several deterrent tactics at the U.S.-Mexico border to curb the recent surge in illegal migrant crossings. However, he has been met with resistance from the Department of Justice (DOJ).

What We Know:

Haley told Bash during CNN's State of the Union that the DOJ strategy to sue Abbott and the state of Texas to stop Abbott from interfering in federal immigration policies has been "a huge mistake."

"Here you have Governor Abbott and the people of Texas who just want to be kept safe. They're putting up barbed wire to keep people coming in and the idea that the federal government is wanting to sue them and cut that barbed wire when we're trying to make sure that we keep people out, that's a huge mistake...," Haley said.

Bash then probed Haley again about calls for Texas' independence.

"I didn't realize this but the current Texas Republican Party platform, it was added in 2022, does call for a statewide voter referendum on whether Texas should 'reassert its status as an independent nation,'" Bash said. "I want to clarify for voters, you want to be president of the United States, do you think that any state has a right to secede?"

Haley replied: "No, according to the Constitution they can't. What I do think they have the right to do is have the power to protect themselves and do all that. Texas has talked about seceding for a long time. The Constitution doesn't allow for that..."

Haley's campaign told Newsweek via email on Sunday that the GOP candidate "strongly supports Governor Abbott."

In a post on X, formerly Twitter, in late January, Haley said the Texas governor "is right: the state of Texas has every right to defend itself and its borders." She was responding to a statement Abbott issued on January 24, claiming that Texas has a constitutional right to defense itself.

Newsweek reached out to Abbott's office via email for comment.

Views:

Abbott has called his deterrent tactics "effective" at stopping the flood of illegal immigrants into his state in an X post, in late January.

Meanwhile, the White House said Abbott's tactics, like putting up razor wire along the southern border, are "cruel" and "inhumane."

What's Next?

Last month, the Texas governor said "this is not over" after the Supreme Court sided with the Biden administration to allow for federal agents to remove razor that Abbott's administration placed along the southern border as litigation over the issue proceeds.

Update 2/4/24, 10:29 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.

Update 2/4/24, 1:21 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Haley's campaign and additional information.