WASHINGTON — Republicans are looking to use the Trump administration’s attack on Iran to pressure Democrats to stop supporting the country’s defense department.
But Democrats quickly rejected that pressure, making it clear they will continue to push for reforms to restore Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as Customs and Border Protection, after federal agents killed two Americans in Minneapolis.
“No,” said Sen. Angus King, Maine, when asked if the war changes his situation. “I don’t think the two are related.”
King, who is negotiating with Democrats, has previously opposed the shutdown. His refusal to pivot serves as an indication that the team has no intention of backing down.
DHS funding expired on Feb. 13, which forced a partial shutdown of the department that affects the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard and cybersecurity. Democrats have been negotiating with the White House about changes to immigration enforcement to secure their votes to fully reopen the agency.
If Republicans are concerned about protecting the US from terrorist attacks, “we should fund everything at DHS but ICE,” King said. “That would be an easy way to solve any problems that might arise,” he added.
“What does TSA have to do with Iran – or FEMA?” he said in disbelief.
Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., the only Democrat running for re-election this year in a district won by Donald Trump, said Congress could do both: fund DHS while setting minimum standards for immigration agents.
“We want to make sure that the agencies that protect the American people are funded, and make sure that federal agents maintain the highest standards of ethics and integrity,” Ossoff said.
He said Americans widely support the idea that federal agents “should not attack or kill Americans with impunity.”
He added that the Senate could vote immediately to ensure that TSA workers are paid while negotiations continue. They, like many other DHS employees, must work without pay until the funding crisis is resolved, while the White House has found ways to pay others, such as the Secret Service and some law enforcement officials.
Passing the DHS funding bill requires 60 votes in the Senate, where Republicans control 53 seats. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., weighed in on what he called Trump’s “war of choice” on Iran on Tuesday, giving no indication that his position on DHS has changed.
The White House and Senate Democrats continued to trade offers back and forth, without revealing many details publicly. So far, they have failed to reach success. Republicans have shown no interest in partially reopening DHS.
The GOP hopes that the Iran war will soften Democratic resistance to funding DHS unless their conditions are met.
“Right now, obviously, where you see an increase in activity in our internal environment — it’s more important than ever that we fully fund DHS,” said Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who heads the Appropriations subcommittee that produces bills to fund DHS. “And I think there are a number of my Democratic colleagues that I hope will continue to have conversations, so we can try to do that.”
Sen. David McCormick, D-Pa., made a similar charge.
“Now would be a good time for Democrats to drop their opposition to DHS funding and pass a bill to support our homeland security,” he wrote in X. “Continuing to play political games with the security of our country as the ongoing situation in the Middle East is dangerous.”
But Democrats aren’t happy with their argument, calling it baseless and out of step with the argument at hand.
“They went to war with Iran (which no American asked for) to get an excuse to allow ICE to continue killing Americans and tearing up schools here at home with impunity (which no American asked for),” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., the ranking Democrat on Appropriations in the Appropriations DHS response to the DHS committee.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., said there have been “constructive discussions” about overhauling DHS based on “absolutely reasonable” requests from Democrats, which he said will continue.
“Frankly, we shouldn’t say, ‘Oh, we’re giving up any accountability for ICE behavior or any change in training and policy, because we have a national security emergency.’ There is strong funding available in a time of national security like this,” said Coons.
