Gov. Greg Abbott spoke at the Law School in front of members of UT’s chapter of the Federalist Society on Thursday in an event that was closed to the public and non-members of the organization

According to its website, the Federalist Society at Texas Law is an organization of law students who argue for “a legal system that values individual liberty, traditional values and the rule of law.” According to the Federalist Society’s information office, the event’s registration was closed to the public due to capacity concerns.

During the event, interim president Jim Davis and Jordan Lamb, president of the Federalist Society at Texas Law, questioned Abbott over a variety of topics, including the role of law today.

Lamb asked Abbott about Operation Lone Star, the initiative that deployed law enforcement to the border between Texas and Mexico. Abbott talked about the role of lawyers in maintaining the program’s legality.

“We knew if we just got those people to put them on a bus, we could be either sued or criminally prosecuted for kidnapping and things like that,” Abbott said during the talk. “With our lawyers and our legal team, we designed a system that was 110% legal, where they volunteered, picked their own designation and got on the bus on their own accord.”

As governor, Abbott appoints justices to the Texas Supreme Court and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in case of vacancy. Abbott has appointed six of nine of the current Texas Supreme Court justices. Davis asked what Abbott looks for in judges when an appointment occurs.

“It’s really pretty simple for those of you who are members of the Federalist Society because you have certain core principles of what you expect judges to do,” Abbott said. “I call it (being) originalist — I’m an originalist. I believe that the way the Constitution is written is the way they should be applied.”

According to the National Constitution Center, originalism is an interpretation of the Constitution that “believes that the constitutional text ought to be given the original public meaning that it would have had at the time that it became law.”

Abbott said the Texas 15th Court of Appeals, which the Legislature established in 2023 to handle business matters, quickened decisions on related business. He also talked about the role of business courts and regulations, and the relationship between the federal government and the states.

“Attorney generals in the country are both a sword and a shield, as it concerns using the law,” Abbott said. “They use it as a sword, like let’s say, under the Biden administration, going after the Biden administration to try to rip apart the truly unconstitutional actions that the Biden administration was trying to impose upon the states, but also as a shield to protect us as a state.”

Davis expanded on his previous experience working with Abbott and thanked the governor for his contributions to the University.

“I’ve been so privileged to see your leadership as a judge, as an attorney general, as a governor and the great things you’ve done for the state and the things you’ve done for our campus,” Davis said. “The support for an academic medical center, for semiconductor research but most importantly the support you have for our students, our student athletes (and) our law students on campus.”