KUT: REACTION: Texas Officials On Trump's Proposed Birthright Citizenship Ban

President Donald Trump suggested in an interview that he could sign an executive order eliminating automatic citizenship for children born in the U.S. to noncitizens. If he follows through, the order would undoubtedly set off a legal challenge that would ultimately end at the U.S. Supreme Court.

Trump's suggestion during the Axios interview set off a flurry of reactions from both sides of the aisle ahead of the midterm elections.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, who represents Austin and San Antonio, suggested the president wanted to rile up his base and bring immigration to the forefront ahead of Election Day.

"He is a master of distraction," Doggett said. "He continues to foment bigotry and do everything he can to distract attention from his failures on health care and on education, in hopes that his base rhetoric will motivate his base."

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has garnered praise from Trump for his lawsuit to end pre-existing conditions under the Affordable Care Act, said he thinks the order would address immigration issues Congress hasn't been able to tackle.

"This is something that, I think, most Americans find unacceptable – that you create an incentive for somebody to cross the border, have a baby and suddenly they're a citizen," Paxton told Fox News. "It doesn't make any sense, and I'm glad the president's taking a look at this and considering it an option."

Temo Muniz, Texas chairman of the Federation of Hispanic Republicans, said the president's suggestion – and how high-profile Republican leaders respond – will loom large in the future of a GOP that's trying to attract more Hispanic voters. Ultimately, he said, it could lead to a split in the party.

"I still believe that we have an opportunity as a Republican Party," he said. "But at this point, with what the president said this morning ... I think it's time for a Republican civil war in the Republican Party of Texas. And I think it's time to stop playing nice."

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and his Democratic challenger, U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke, haven't yet directly responded to the president's comments. But The Texas Tribune points out that Cruz has previously said it's "a policy matter [that] doesn't make sense" and that he would support ending the provision; O'Rourke has never publicly expressed opposition to it.