Thune: Democrats’ DHS Funding Block Jeopardizes Americans’ Safety

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WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor:

Thune's remarks below (as delivered):

"Mr. President, my Democrat colleagues are at it again.

"They're on their second shutdown in six months, and in a few short days, a lot of government workers will be missing part of their paycheck again thanks to Senate Democrats.

"Let's just briefly review the 2026 fiscal year, Mr. President.

"At the start of the fiscal year, which is October 1 for the federal government, Democrats shut down the entire government for a staggering 43 days - the longest government shutdown in history.

"And by the time a handful of Democrat senators agreed to end the shutdown, air travel was in chaos, essential programs had been affected, and many government employees had turned to loans, credit cards, and food banks to make ends meet.

"But even the worst government shutdown in history wasn't enough for Senate Democrats.

"Fast forward, now, to January of this year.

"Democrats and Republicans in both houses of Congress had agreed on a final Department of Homeland Security spending bill that included deescalation training for Immigration and Customs Enforcement as well as $20 million for body cameras for ICE officers.

"But Democrats decided that wasn't enough.

"And so Republicans and the White House agreed to reopen negotiations.

"Knowing that negotiation takes time, we suggested a temporary funding extension for several weeks.

"But Democrats insisted on no more than two weeks.

"And when two weeks, predictably, wasn't enough - especially since Democrats were in no hurry to put together a legislative proposal - Democrats shut down the entire department.

"And now a whole lot of Department of Homeland Security employees are starting to miss pay thanks to Senate Democrats.

"That includes TSA agents - the people tasked with the safety of air travel in this country - as well as Coast Guard civilian employees, members of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (who do so much, I might add, essential disaster response work here at home), and many others.

"Mr. President, let's be very clear.

"This isn't a principled stand by Democrats against Republicans who refuse to negotiate. That's not the case.

"The White House has not only made a lot of reforms to ICE procedures on its own; it has shown a clear willingness to legislate reforms, and has made more than one substantial offer to Democrats.

"Democrats could have recognized this and chosen to extend DHS funding while negotiations finished up.

"Or we could be considering an agreement right now!

"But instead it's becoming abundantly clear that what Democrats really want is to keep this alive as a political issue.

"If Democrats really wanted to put reforms in place, they'd be doing everything they can to get a bill.

"Of course the White House isn't going to sign off on every Democrat demand - no side gets everything it wants in negotiations - but Democrats could be on the verge of having substantial reforms signed into law if they were at all serious about actually implementing solutions.

"But they're not.

"They're interested in politics, not policy.

"And a whole lot of essential government employees are suffering as a result.

"To say nothing of the essential government work - the work of government - that is suffering.

"The deployment of cybersecurity measures to federal agencies has been delayed; states are having to wait for disaster reimbursements; FEMA training centers are closed, affecting 45,000 students per week - and the list goes on, Mr. President.

"I mentioned the air travel chaos that ensued as a result of Democrats' first fiscal year 2026 shutdown.

"Well, the longer this DHS shutdown drags on, the more likely it is that we will start to have staffing problems at airport checkpoints, which will lead to compounding flight delays and other problems.

"Now, Mr. President, it shouldn't need saying that it's always a terrible idea to use the Department of Homeland Security as a political pawn.

"There are always threats to the homeland that have to be addressed, and that is exactly the work that is done by the Department of Homeland Security.

"But above all right now, with an enhanced terror threat from Iran and Iran-funded terrorist groups, it is vital that we ensure the Department of Homeland Security is fully funded and fully functioning.

"Mr. President, it's two more days until Department of Homeland Security employees start missing part of their paychecks.

"I hope that my Democrat colleagues will finally decide to come to the table and bring their second shutdown in under six months to a close."

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