The New World Screworm fly poses a billion-dollar threat to the state’s economy.

Texas lawmakers heard conflicting reports on the state’s readiness to fight the New World Screwworm, which is approaching the southern border.

The federal agency accused Miller of disregarding proven strategies to combat the parasitic pest “in favor of clickbait publicity stunts.”

Mounted patrol officers, known as tick riders, who typically patrol the southern border to protect cattle from fever tick, will also now serve as the first line of defense against screwworm.

Gov. Greg Abbott was joined by U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins at the Texas Capitol where Rollins announced the federal government’s plan to spend up to $850 million to prevent the New World screwworm’s arrival in the United States.