Schiff, Booker deflect on shutdown blame amid terror concerns, thousands of DHS workers without pay
Sens. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Cory Booker, D-N.J., deflected blame when pressed whether their party should vote to end the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shutdown on Sunday, which has left workers without paychecks for weeks.
"We saw terror attacks in West Bloomfield, Michigan, in Norfolk, Virginia. This morning, the CEOs of the nation's major airlines and cargo carriers have written a letter to Congress calling for them to end the shutdown, talking about the importance of American security in the airways," NBC's Kristen Welker asked Schiff during "Meet the Press" on Sunday. "Is it responsible for Democrats to hold up DHS funding with the threat of terror attacks looming during this conflict?"
Schiff said the Democrats wanted to separate ICE from the rest of the funding, and offered to do so multiple times to fund the other agencies affected by the shutdown.
"We offered vote after vote, resolution after resolution—even as recently as this week—to reopen those agencies, to fund them, and the Republicans voted it down. We said, 'Let's wall off ICE funding, let's fund these other agencies that protect the country,' and the Republicans, one after another, voted them down. Voted down funding TSA, voted down funding the Coast Guard, voted down funding FEMA. So, Republicans are controlling both houses and the presidency; they can't very well blame the minority party for their own inability to govern, particularly when they're voting down Democratic motions to reopen these agencies," Schiff responded.
TWO SHOOTINGS INTENSIFY DHS STANDOFF AS GOP WARNS OF RISING TERROR THREATS
CNN's Jake Tapper confronted Booker with similar questioning and asked, "Isn't it time for Democrats to reopen and refund DHS?"
Tapper said that Democrats "won the debate" on ICE in some ways, pointing to Kristi Noem's firing and Border Czar Tom Homan taking over in Minnesota.
"Democrats have tried multiple times to try to get TSA, CISA, the Coast Guard funded. Republicans have refused, time and time and time again, to fund," Booker began.
Booker argued that ICE was still doing "reckless things," and added, "I will not approve another dollar for ICE given all that they're doing. But we should be funding those TSA agents that keep us safe, CISA, Coast Guard, and for Republicans to refuse to do it is unacceptable."
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Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg also put blame on Republicans during an interview with Tapper on Sunday.
"I think Republicans should stop blocking the Democratic proposals to fund all of DHS, including TSA and other parts, except for the parts that should be negotiated over, which is ICE and Customs and Border Patrol," he said.
Democrats on Capitol Hill are accusing Republicans of walking away from attempts to shrink the size of a partial government shutdown that began on Feb. 14, arguing that the impasse over funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) doesn’t need to hold up funding for other agencies.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., said last week that the Democrats were "totally ready to fund FEMA, TSA, Coast Guard, other elements," but that ICE was continuing to "misbehave."
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, scoffed at what they view as Democratic calls to avoid the heart of the gridlock.
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"That’s extremely hypocritical because we’ve already funded ICE," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said, noting that the agency had already received allocations through Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill last year.
"So, the only thing they’re doing is hurting the air-traveling public through TSA. They’re hurting them and not accomplishing what they’re saying they’re trying to accomplish. It’s shameful," Cornyn said.