Jean-Pierre on the DOJ's Buoy Lawsuit Against Texas: 'I'm Not Saying the President Deserves Credit' (July 25, 2023)

The White House wanted it both ways on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s floating border barrier. It pointed to the Justice Department’s lawsuit against Texas as proof the administration was acting, while insisting the president stays out of Justice Department decisions. A reporter called it out: “I’m a little confused how the President should get credit for what the Justice Department is doing if what you’re saying is that he had nothing to do with what the Justice Department is doing.”

“I’m not saying the President deserves credit for what the Department of Justice is doing,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre answered. “I’m saying the Department of Justice is doing their job” [1].

The video above shows the exchange from the July 25, 2023, White House briefing, the day after the Justice Department sued Texas over the barrier [1][3]. Quotes are from the official transcripts published by the American Presidency Project [1][2].

”A Two-Pronged Answer”

The reporter set it up. “I want to get back to Texas and the razor wire and the buoys in the — in the Rio Grande. There were questions yesterday about why President Biden hasn’t personally called out Governor Abbott over this, and you kind of had a two-pronged answer,” the reporter said [1].

“You said that you have called out Governor Abbott, and you’ve called him out again. And you also pointed to the actions of the Justice Department taking Texas to court over this. And I’m wondering, on a lot of issues, you have been adamant that President Biden does not insert himself on Justice Department decisions. So, can you elaborate on what his role was in this litigation against Texas?” [1]

“This is a Department of Justice role. This is for them to decide. And they treated this with urgency,” Jean-Pierre said. “So — but we leave it to the Department of Justice. They are the — they have — they are the experts on this” [1].

”The President Is Not Looking for Credit”

After the reporter’s follow-up about credit, Jean-Pierre tried again. “We’re not looking for credit. The President is not looking for credit here. He’s looking to make sure that the right thing happens,” she said. Then she turned to Abbott: “He doesn’t help. He puts the lives of migrants at risk” [1].

Asked whether Biden might federalize the Texas National Guard to keep it out of the operation, she said, “I don’t have anything to share on any new policies, in regard to your question.” She said the president had put “24,000 agents, officers, federal agents to work” securing the border, and accused Abbott of turning the issue “into a political stunt” [1].

”Texas Will See You in Court, Mr. President”

The day before, reporters had pressed her on Abbott’s defiant reply to the Justice Department’s warning letter. “Governor Abbott has now responded … saying, ‘Texas will see you in court, Mr. President.’ Your response?” one asked [2].

“So I’m going to let the Department of Justice speak to this,” Jean-Pierre said. “They’ve been very clear last week that they are — that they also will see Governor Abbott in court for his unlawful actions” [2].

Another reporter read her Abbott’s charge that the president’s policies were encouraging “migrants to risk their lives by crossing illegally through the water, instead of safely and legally at a port of entry.” Her response: “The one person that is sowing chaos is Governor Abbott” [2].

Then came a simple question: “When was the last time that President Biden tried calling Governor Abbott?” Jean-Pierre did not give a date. “Let’s be very clear: Governor Abbott is making it harder for the men and women of the Border Patrol by what he’s doing,” she said [2].

The Barrier

According to a federal appeals court, Texas began installing the barrier near Eagle Pass on July 10, 2023, without federal authorization. It was roughly 1,000 feet of four-foot orange buoys, fastened with heavy metal cables and held in place by 68 anchors weighing about 3,000 pounds each and 75 weighing about 1,000 pounds each [5].

The Justice Department sued Texas and Abbott on July 24, 2023, arguing that the state needed federal permission under the Rivers and Harbors Appropriation Act of 1899 [3][5]. Abbott told Fox News that the state would fight. “We believe we have the right to do so and we will take this lawsuit all the way to the United States Supreme Court,” he said [3].

By the Numbers

1,000 feet: the length of the buoy barrier in the Rio Grande [5].
143: anchors holding it in place, 68 at about 3,000 pounds and 75 at about 1,000 pounds [5].
1899: the year of the federal law the Justice Department sued under [5].
9: judges who joined the Fifth Circuit’s majority opinion siding with Texas in July 2024 [6].
5-4: the Supreme Court split in the separate fight over Texas’ concertina wire [9].
237,565: Border Patrol apprehensions in fiscal 2025, the fewest since 1970 [8].

What Happened Next

A judge ordered it moved. On Sept. 6, 2023, U.S. District Judge David Ezra of Austin ordered Texas to move the barrier out of the middle of the river and onto the riverbank, calling it a “threat to human life.” The next day, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals let the buoys stay in the water while Texas appealed, the AP reported [4].

A split panel agreed with the judge. On Dec. 1, 2023, a three-judge Fifth Circuit panel upheld Ezra’s order. Judge Don Willett dissented, writing that “this 1,000-foot segment is not navigable” [5]. In January 2024, the full court agreed to rehear the case, which kept the buoys in place, Fox News reported [7].

Texas won. On July 30, 2024, the full Fifth Circuit ruled for Texas. In an opinion by Willett, joined by eight colleagues, the court held that “the district court abused its discretion by granting the United States a preliminary injunction” and that “the barrier is not within navigable water.” It sent the case back with instructions to vacate the injunction [6]. Judge James Ho, writing separately, opened with this: “A sovereign isn’t a sovereign if it can’t defend itself against invasion” [6].

The wire fight went the other way. On Jan. 22, 2024, the Supreme Court granted the Biden administration’s request to lift a Fifth Circuit order in its separate dispute with Texas over concertina wire. Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh said they would have denied it, according to the court’s docket [9].

Crossings collapsed under Trump. In fiscal 2025, which ended eight months into President Donald Trump’s second term, Border Patrol recorded 237,565 apprehensions, the fewest since 1970, Fox News reported [8].

More of Jean-Pierre’s answers checked against the record are on HYGO News’ Karine Jean-Pierre record page.