WASHINGTON, D.C. - On Tuesday, March 17, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) dismissed a plan backed by House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY) to fund agencies within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) other than U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), saying it is an effort to "defund the police."
On Monday, March 16, Jeffries launched a discharge petition effort to try to force a vote on legislation to fund a large portion of DHS, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Coast Guard, as Democrats continue to seek reforms to immigration enforcement and refuse to fund the agency.
The petition needs 218 signatures, requiring support from a handful of Republicans, to force action, the Hill reported. Johnson noted that Republicans have passed full DHS funding in the House multiple times without support from Democratic leaders.
"Now, instead of doing what’s right and putting an end to this charade, Democrats insist on tearing the bill apart piece by piece,” Johnson said. "The discharge petition is really a petition to defund the police," he added. “The law enforcement agencies that are part of the Department of Homeland Security, or what they are targeting."
Speaker Johnson then accused Democrats of refusing to fund TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard "unless they can reopen our borders to illegal aliens."
Johnson was echoing House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), who earlier in the day, during a press conference, called the Democratic proposal a "defund the police discharge."
"One of the dumbest political ideas may be in the history of American politics — but the Democrats aren’t done with it,” Scalise said. “Now that you’re in another moment of Democrat-created chaos, what is their answer? To defund law enforcement again."
The DHS has now been without funding for more than a month as Democrats demand immigration reforms, marking the third-longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
The shutdown has forced workers in the agency to work without pay, leading to resignations and absences among TSA officers, which in turn have resulted in long lines at airports.
On Monday, March 16, Jeffries launched a discharge petition effort to try to force a vote on legislation to fund a large portion of DHS, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), and the Coast Guard, as Democrats continue to seek reforms to immigration enforcement and refuse to fund the agency.
The petition needs 218 signatures, requiring support from a handful of Republicans, to force action, the Hill reported. Johnson noted that Republicans have passed full DHS funding in the House multiple times without support from Democratic leaders.
"Now, instead of doing what’s right and putting an end to this charade, Democrats insist on tearing the bill apart piece by piece,” Johnson said. "The discharge petition is really a petition to defund the police," he added. “The law enforcement agencies that are part of the Department of Homeland Security, or what they are targeting."
Speaker Johnson then accused Democrats of refusing to fund TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard "unless they can reopen our borders to illegal aliens."
Johnson was echoing House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA), who earlier in the day, during a press conference, called the Democratic proposal a "defund the police discharge."
"One of the dumbest political ideas may be in the history of American politics — but the Democrats aren’t done with it,” Scalise said. “Now that you’re in another moment of Democrat-created chaos, what is their answer? To defund law enforcement again."
The DHS has now been without funding for more than a month as Democrats demand immigration reforms, marking the third-longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
The shutdown has forced workers in the agency to work without pay, leading to resignations and absences among TSA officers, which in turn have resulted in long lines at airports.
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