WATCH: Senator Blunt Rochester on MS NOW: “This is a Break-Glass Moment for our Country.”

Click here to watch the full interview.

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, last night joinedMS NOW's The Weeknight to discuss the consequences of President Trump's refusal to negotiate on funding for the Department of Homeland Security and her opposition to the SAVE America Act. Shortly before the interview, Senator Blunt Rochester voted against the nomination of U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) to be Secretary of Homeland Security.

Below are excerpts of the interview.

On the Consequences of this DHS Shutdown

"It is clear that the challenges that we face right now in this moment, and what we're seeing from Homeland Security, it is not making us safer. It is not making us more secure. As a matter of fact, even just today, watching what is happening at airports across this country should give people more pause. Democrats have actually put up eight…bills to say, let's open up the other parts of the Department of Homeland Security while we continue to negotiate on ICE."

"And mind you, even the things that we're talking about in terms of ICE reforms are not things that are crazy. These are commonsense things like you shouldn't have these folks just storming into your home without a judicial warrant. They should not be wearing masks. And instead, what we're seeing is that now, in addition to being deployed in our cities and our towns, they're deploying ICE in the airports. Again, it's not making us safer. It's not making us stronger as a country. And it actually is doing the reverse."

"I would also say that I am the ranking member of the Coast Guard subcommittee. We as Democrats said, listen, TSA, Coast Guard, these are agencies that, FEMA, people want, need, and we all agree…Even our Republican colleagues, when they are trying to negotiate with us, Donald Trump says no, because [he wants us] to pass the SAVE Act. And we're asking, what are you trying to save us from? Our democracy?"

On Democrats' Fight for the American People

"Let me be Blunt. When people look at their grocery bills right now, remember who's in charge. When people go to the gas pump right now and we see skyrocketing prices [as the result of] a war that they never told us why we got in and they can't figure out how to get out, remember who's in charge. When you think about the fact that I come from the state of Delaware, where the dignified transfers happen when bodies come home from war, and that people are afraid for their family members, remember who's in charge. But also remember who is here on the ground fighting for you."

On the Importance of this Moment

"Y'all know I don't do a lot of television. This is a break-glass moment for our country. We have been holding the Senate floor, making assignments overnight to make sure that no funny business happens with this SAVE America Act, because really, that's what this is all about. Will we even have an election when we get to November? Disenfranchising women - 69 million women whose names have changed. Disenfranchising people of color - creating a modern day poll tax by requiring these things [like a] birth certificate or a passport where half of America doesn't even have a passport. And so, if it means staying here until midnight or three in the morning, we're going to be here. If it means coming on TV shows and internet and social media, we're going to do it. But this is a team sport, and we need everybody to be engaged."

On the Status of DHS Funding Negotiations

"It's my understanding we were very, very close, which is why Donald Trump basically said, no deal unless you pass our SAVE America Act. Because if they pass the SAVE America Act, then, as he said, 'the right people' will vote. Who are the right people? Is it young people on college campuses that will have - it'll be harder for them. Is it people who live in rural communities [who] have to travel 4.5 hours back and forth to get these kinds of documents? Who are the right people? That's what this is all about to me, is the election. And so, we've got to stand firm. We've got to stand strong. And what I hope people recognize is that the majority of us here, all of us as Democrats, have been working day and night, and we will continue to work because everything depends on it in this very present moment."

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Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester represents Delaware in the United States Senate where she serves on the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Environment and Public Works; and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.