Senate Democrats on Thursday again blocked a Department of Homeland Security funding bill as Republicans argued their shutdown of the department is endangering the country, especially in light of rising threats from Iran.
Democrats say President Trump’s decision to start a war against Iran does not override the need to crack down on his deportation force at home. Most in the party are refusing to vote for a DHS funding bill without changes to the administration’s immigration enforcement policies.
“The illegality, brutality and violence that have so repulsed the American people have to be stopped,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Connecticut Democrat, said, noting the conflict with Iran “in no way excuses us from enforcing the reforms that the American people want and are demanding.”
Thursday’s 51-45 procedural vote fell short of the 60 needed to overcome a filibuster and advance the DHS funding bill. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was the only Democrat to side with Republicans in support.
Senate Republican Whip John Barrasso of Wyoming said Democrats blocking funding for DHS “is a cheap publicity stunt for the radical left and a costly danger for our country.”
“Now that America has struck Iran, the number one threat to our homeland is the threat of terrorism,” he said. “Last weekend in Austin, Texas, a lone-wolf terrorist opened fire into a crowded establishment — killing three Americans and wounding over a dozen more. The shooter was wearing a T-shirt with the Iranian flag under a sweatshirt that said, ’Property of Allah.’ The warning lights are flashing red.”
DHS has been shut down since Feb. 14, when stopgap funding expired. However, the department’s functions that are considered essential are continuing, with employees forced to work without pay.
“Having kept DHS shut down now for three weeks and counting, Democrats will once again leave Washington today and head to the airport — where they will walk past some of the 50,000 TSA agents who are missing part of their pay because of Senate Democrats,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican.
He said it’s not just Transportation Security Administration workers who are affected, but also civilian Coast Guard employees and staff at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Secret Service — all of whom have roles in protecting the homeland.
Some agencies did have to furlough employees and are operating with slimmed-down staffs to maintain essential operations.
“Right now, less than half of the Americans who work for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are on the job,” Mr. Thune said. “The rest have been furloughed, and the agency has had to cancel vulnerability checks on certain infrastructure.
“Now, you’d think that that might raise some concern among Democrats, especially given the current threat environment. But apparently it doesn’t.”
Democrats have said the claims about harms to CISA are hypocritical, given the GOP proposed to cut the agency’s budget in half.
For weeks now, Democrats and the White House have traded a few offers on immigration enforcement policy changes that could be made to the DHS funding bill, but remain far apart.
Mr. Blumenthal said Mr. Trump’s decision to remove Kirsti Noem as the head of DHS helps but means nothing without policy changes to force immigration enforcement officers to wear identification, take off their masks and end excessive use of force.
“If the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security commits to those reforms, we’ll have successful negotiations,” he said.
Mr. Trump has tapped Oklahoma GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace Ms. Noem. He, like other Republican lawmakers, has pushed back on some of the Democrats’ demands, such as requiring judicial warrants for arrests on private property.
Mr. Fetterman said he supports Mr. Mullin taking over DHS, calling him “a nice upgrade” and suggesting the Oklahoman would not allow the type of violence that took place in Minneapolis.
• Mallory Wilson contributed to this story.
