Thune: Republicans Won’t Let Democrats Defund Law Enforcement

Click here to watch the video.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) today spoke at a press conference with Senate Republican leadership:

Thune's remarks below (as delivered):

"It is shameful what the Democrats have done to the Department of Homeland Security.

"They have now, twice in this last year, forced people within the department to go without pay for extended periods of time.

"Republicans have tried repeatedly, not only through the bipartisan appropriations process, to ensure that the department and all the agencies and all the employees and all the functions are funded.

"We've tried to do it that way. Democrats have blocked it.

"We tried to do clean extensions, continuing resolutions that would fund those agencies, and those were also blocked by the Democrats.

"So the Democrats can't seem to take yes for an answer on anything, and … what they have done here, for all intents and purposes, is shut down the appropriations process.

"So Republicans have been forced to do this the hard way, but … thankfully because of the work that we did last summer, have been able to ensure that people at those agencies in that department are being paid.

"And thankfully for that, and then, coupled with that, the intention that we now have to come in behind that and pass a reconciliation bill that would enable those agencies to continue to be funded three years into the future.

"So I'm trying to figure out exactly, as I think about it, what the Democrats got out of all this.

"Thanks to the work we did last summer in the Working Families Tax Cuts bill, the ICE and CBP agencies are funded - both field staff, but also, you know, civilian staff, office staff, are all being funded.

"And thanks to the good work that the president did, some of the other agencies within the department are currently being funded.

"All of the things that the Democrats made this about - which was supposed to be about reforms, reforms to the way that ICE and CBP operate - they get none of that. Zero.

"And now we're going to fund those agencies for three years into the future.

"The only thing the Democrats got out of this was they now own the issue of open borders and defund law enforcement.

"Honestly, I don't know what else they walk away from with this, other than, again, trying to destroy the appropriations process, which historically has been done in a bipartisan way.

"But the Republicans are going to stand with our Border Patrol, with our law enforcement agencies, and we're going to ensure that they are funded - not only today, but well into the future.

"And so the budget resolution Senator Graham is preparing, we will have on the floor hopefully as early as next week, will provide multiple years of funding for these agencies.

"And a reconciliation bill, which will follow shortly after, will ensure that that job gets done.

"So that's where we are in the process, but we're going to move quickly, decisively, and hopefully in a very focused way on ensuring that those important law enforcement agencies - contrary to the Democrats' defund law enforcement efforts - are funded not only today, but well into the future."

Permalink: https://www.thune.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/2026/4/thune-republicans-won-t-let-democrats-defund-law-enforcement