The U.S. military strikes in Iran have given Republicans a new argument in the nearly three-week shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, with GOP negotiators warning that a hampered DHS could increase the risk of a terrorist attack.
Democrats aren’t buying it.
For one, Democrats have offered to fund the Transportation Security Administration, Coast Guard, Secret Service and other DHS agencies while continuing to negotiate immigration enforcement changes, after federal agents shot and killed Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota.
For another, the Trump administration has wide latitude to keep the department running during the shutdown.
More than 90% of DHS employees are “excepted” workers who keep showing up during the funding lapse. Secretary Kristi Noem also has access to billions of dollars from last year’s tax-and-spending law, which is separate from annual funding measures. And Democrats disagreed with Trump’s campaign last year to lay off some employees, including at the Justice Department and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
For now, the GOP warnings have amounted to a rhetorical shift in the shutdown negotiations, but not a substantive one.
“The Democrats are continuing to not fund the Department of Homeland Security which puts us at increased risk,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., told reporters Wednesday. “Terrorism is on a high alert right now because of what’s happening in Iran.”
Barrasso pointed to the shooter in Austin, Texas, who killed three people and injured 14. Investigators are examining the Iran war as a possible motive.
Noem told lawmakers at a hearing Tuesday that the threat level of terrorist attacks had risen because of the military action in Iran, in response to a question from Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who said the U.S. was “engaged in military action against the mothership of terrorism, Iran.”
Those arguments aren’t winning over Democrats — even some of the moderate members who are among the most likely to vote to end a shutdown.
Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, who was one of eight members of the Senate Democratic Caucus to vote to end the funding lapse last fall amid a fight over health care, told MS NOW the new line of Republican reasoning won’t work.
“The principal anti-terrorist agency in our government is the FBI,” King said, noting that the law enforcement agency is already funded and isn’t part of DHS. “And maybe they would have thought about that when they cut CISA about a third in the past year, completely outside of this current discussion.”
He added that, if Republicans Point put a bill on the floor to fund CISA, FEMA, Coast Guard and TSA, “I’ll get them the votes.”
“And then we can debate ICE,” King said.
Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, also criticized the Trump administration for firing people at the Justice Department and CISA. The Iran strikes don’t change anything in the DHS shutdown talks, she told reporters Wednesday.
“When we have ICE officers on the street who are dragging people out of their homes, who are going into daycare centers, who are killing people on the streets, we cannot be blackmailed by the president right now,” Murray said.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash, told reporters she’s not convinced the country is less safe because of the lapse in funding for the department.
The Washington lawmaker then accused Noem of reassigning agents from “critical security threats” to immigration instead.
“Kristi Noem has done such a terrible job of managing DHS and ICE and CBP, and the reality is we have a crisis right here at home, on our streets with us, citizens being murdered, with people being detained without due process,” Jayapal said. “Courts are ruling against DHS and Kristi Noem has actually taken agents who should be working on critical security threats and assign them to immigration.”
The DHS funding lapse started Feb. 14, and talks between the White House and congressional Democrats have yielded little progress. Democrats were enraged after Noem’s testimony to two congressional committees this week, when she wouldn’t apologize for quickly and incorrectly saying Alex Pretti may have been a domestic terrorist. Rather than rallying lawmakers around a more bipartisan approach to antiterrorism programs, the Iran strikes have highlighted a mostly party-line state of play on Capitol Hill. A resolution by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., to limit Trump’s ability to continue military strikes in Iran, failed a procedural test 47-53 on Wednesday. Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., opposed the motion, while Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., a cosponsor, supported it. President Donald Trump’s administration has unusually wide latitude to keep DHS operations running during the shutdown. Republican lawmakers gave him billions of dollars for DHS, especially for ICE and CBP, in last year’s reconciliation bill. Officials will use some of those funds to continue paying a wide range of DHS employees, according to a senior administration official. That includes all CBP law enforcement, ICE law enforcement, Coast Guard military personnel and Secret Service law enforcement, the official said. It also includes law enforcement data analytics support, some information technology specialists, attorneys supporting law enforcement operations, and forensic support technicians, the official said. Other employees, whose jobs are relevant to the risk of terrorist attacks, will not be paid during the shutdown, instead waiting for back pay when the shutdown is over. That includes Transportation Safety Administration employees. The House is expected to vote on funding for the agency on Thursday. The lower chamber passed a similar funding bill in January, ahead of the shootings of Good and Pretti. Seven Democrats voted alongside Republicans for the original passage. Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif, said members of his party will oppose this bill again, despite the security risks Republicans claim. “If they were serious about threats and our homeland, why would they try to cut CISA cyber security 50%, which Democrats stood up for as saved those cuts from happening in our fund process?” Aguilar said Wednesday. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La, remained critical of Democrats, telling reporters it’s “madness” that DHS hasn’t received its full year appropriations. “Just think of that massive mission critical functions, especially right now, and the military action in Iran makes it all more urgent and crucial to have a fully funded, fully staffed DHS, across all its departments,” Johnson said during a press conference Wednesday. Frustrated with Democrats whipping against the Republican funding bill, Johnson told reporters he “ought to drop the mic right here and walk out of this room.”
Jack Fitzpatrick covers Congress for MS NOW. He previously reported for Bloomberg Government, Morning Consult and National Journal. He has bachelor's and master's degrees from Arizona State University.
Syedah Asghar
Syedah Asghar covers Congress for MSNBC. Recommended
