Rep. Pfluger Slams Democrats for the Reckless DHS Shutdown

WASHINGTON, DC - Congressman August Pfluger (TX-11), Chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence, slammed Democrats for their repeated failure to prioritize the security of the American people during a full committee hearing on the impacts of the Democrats' DHS shutdown.

During the hearing, committee members heard from the leadership of four DHS components about the direct impacts this shutdown has had on their agencies, missions, and workforce. The result is clear: frontline personnel are facing overwhelming operational strain due to repeated failures to fund the Department of Homeland Security. This is especially alarming given the heightened threats to the homeland.

Witnesses included Admiral Thomas Allan, Vice Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard; Ms. Ha Nguyen McNeill, Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Administrator, Transportation Security Administration; Mr. Nicholas Andersen, Acting Director and Deputy Director, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency; Mr. Gregg Phillips, Associate Administrator, Office of Response and Recovery, Federal Emergency Management Agency.

In his opening remarks, Rep. Pfluger highlights that we are here today because Republicans are cleaning up a mess that Democrats made. Watch his opening remarks here or read them as delivered below.

Following the hearing, Rep. Pfluger joined The Hugh Hewitt Show. Watch it here.

Watch Rep. Pfluger's full questioning HEREor by clicking the image below.

Read Rep. Pfluger's opening remarks as delivered below.

Mr. Chairman, the reason we're here is because we didn't have a single hearing on border security while the ranking member was the chairman in 2021 and 2022. Not a single hearing. And yet, 10 million people were let in under President Joe Biden.

Where were the cries when Jocelyn Nungaray was murdered? Where were the video cameras when Laken Riley was brutally murdered? We don't have those. They didn't get that. That's why we're here.

We're here because we're cleaning up a mess that is on a level and on a scale that is unfathomable. President Trump has had to clean up a mess that is on a scale that was unthinkable.

100,000 people died as a result of fentanyl. Where were my Democrat colleagues down in McAllen, Texas, when I went down there and saw a two year old that was left in the brush? Yeah. The emotional outcry over here is the height of hypocrisy. It is so hypocritical.

Not a single person was down there at a hearing that we held on border security. Not a single Democrat had the decency to stand up for Laken Riley's parents at the State of the Union last year. Not a single person had the decency on the Democrat side of the aisle to stand up for Jocelyn Nungaray's parents, who were in our chamber.

Give me a break.