HOUSTON — The deployment of Texas National Guard troops to Illinois at the behest of President Donald Trump has divided the nation’s governors, severing the bonds between state leaders who have long portrayed themselves as above the partisan fray.

The Illinois governor, JB Pritzker, along with Gov. Gavin Newsom of California, both Democrats, have threatened to leave the once-chummy National Governors Association, a group formed more than 100 years ago and dedicated to finding areas of bipartisan agreement even in fractious political times.

Instead, Democratic governors are accusing Republicans, especially Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas, of a betrayal, even an “invasion” of their states.

“Greg Abbott is a tool of Donald Trump, he’s his lackey,” said Pritzker in an interview with Rachel Maddow

See Full Page