A conservative political advocacy group launched a digital advertising campaign Friday to shame Senate Democrats for shutting down the Department of Homeland Security.
Americans for Prosperity said the ad campaign seeks to “hold Democrats accountable for refusing to vote in favor of legislation that would reopen the government and fully fund the Department of Homeland Security.”
The campaign is intended to bring accountability to lawmakers “who are choosing political brinkmanship over public safety.”
The digital and television ads target Democratic Sens. Mark Kelly of Arizona, Jon Ossoff of Georgia, Gary Peters of Michigan and Tim Kaine of Virginia.
The Washington Times reached out to senators targeted by the ad campaign.
“We’re hopeful once these four begin to hear more from their constituents, they’ll understand that these shutdown tactics aren’t just deeply irresponsible, they’re also extremely unpopular — especially so in a time of heightened security risks,” said AFP Vice President of Communications Bill Riggs.
He said the targeted lawmakers were most likely to recognize that leveraging a government shutdown causes more harm than good.
Democrats blocked funding for DHS, triggering a partial shutdown of the department, to try to force changes to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement tactics.
Amid rising security concerns after the U.S. launched attacks against Iran, AFP called for fully funding the government, warning that continued dysfunction in Washington could “prove catastrophic at a time when American families, businesses, and communities are relying on their government to keep them safe.”
Brent Gardner, the group’s chief government affairs officer, said that funding a fully operational DHS should be a top priority.
“Instead, this Democrat-driven shutdown is creating unnecessary risks while federal workers are being asked to bear the cost. Refusing to fund DHS at a time like this isn’t just misguided — it’s a reckless decision that puts politics ahead of public safety,” he said in a statement.
The shutdown has led to disarray at airports across the country. Transportation Security Administration officers missed their first full paycheck Friday after receiving roughly 30% of their pay two weeks ago.
Americans for Prosperity is a libertarian-conservative political advocacy group founded in 2004 by Charles and David Koch.
