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House Republican leaders urge immediate DHS funding, criticize Democrats for shutdown
Summary
House Republican leaders at a press briefing urged Congress to end a partial Department of Homeland Security shutdown, citing recent violent incidents and asserting that thousands of DHS workers are unpaid; they also previewed immigration and national-security legislation.
House Republican leaders pressed for immediate congressional action to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security, saying the partial shutdown has jeopardized security and left federal frontline workers without pay.
"Enough is enough. Put the political games aside and fund our homeland security," a lawmaker opening the briefing said, invoking recent attacks near his district and arguing the lapse in funding is imperiling travelers and first responders. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson said the shutdown had left roughly 120,000 DHS employees, including about 50,000 Transportation Security Administration officers, working without pay and that some TSA workers have resigned.
The leaders framed partial funding proposals as effectively "defunding" core law-enforcement functions by stripping ICE, Customs and Border Patrol of resources. "Any bill that strips [CBP] funding weakens our defenses against terrorist plots," Johnson said, asserting that the House would press for full appropriations.
Representative Steve Scalise previewed upcoming floor business and repeated Republican messaging that the conference would pursue measures to curb fraud and restore what he called "fiscal discipline," while continuing to press for DHS funding.
The briefing included repeated calls to couple funding with stricter immigration enforcement. Speakers linked recent violent incidents and alleged fraud schemes to gaps in immigration enforcement and promoted pending GOP proposals to make certain foreign nationals inadmissible and removable for fraud. Those proposals were introduced verbally at the briefing but were not the subject of a recorded vote at the event.
The briefing closed with leadership saying the House planned additional floor activity and that members would continue to press for full DHS appropriations; no formal vote or motion was taken during the event.
