Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson called out Texas Gov. Greg Abbott at a press conference this week for spending millions of dollars “to mess with Chicago” instead of handling problems back home in the Lone Star State.
“The governor of Texas should be worrying about Texas,” Johnson said, calling out the Republican governor’s deployment of Texas National Guard troops at President Trump’s behest. “Why he all up in my business? Focus on Texas!”
Johnson’s attack on Abbott came after a reporter sought a response to the Texas governor’s claim that the deployment to Chicago was needed to “safeguard ICE officials and other law enforcement officials as they try to enforce the law” in the Windy City.
During the presser, Johnson also criticized Abbott for spending hundreds of millions busing migrants to cities across the country, including Chicago, while Texans struggle to make ends meet.
“The governor of Texas spent $200 million dollars — that should be going toward raising the minimum wage in Texas, that should be going toward making sure life expectancy is not cut off —$200 million to bus migrants to cities across America,” Johnson said.
By contrast, Chicago has a minimum wage of $16.60 as of July 2025 for companies of four people or more.
Johnson also criticized Abbott for his handling of Winter Storm Uri, which killed as many as 700 people and left millions without power for prolonged periods.
“The minimum wage in Texas is $7.25. The life expectancy in Texas is lower than in Chicago,” Johnson added. “Clearly he doesn’t understand how to make sure workers have a livable wage. He doesn’t understand how to make sure life expectancy is not cut off because you’re poor. He certainly doesn’t understand how to deal with a crisis.”
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