House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., rejected a plan presented by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., that would partially fund the Department of Homeland Security.
Jeffries' plan would fund the agencies within DHS other than Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.
He launched a discharge petition to try to force a vote on his bill that would see TSA, FEMA, the Coast Guard, and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) funded.
TSA employees have begun to miss paychecks, leading to employees quitting and long lines at airport security.
The discharge petition would require 218 signatures, meaning Jeffries would need support from Republicans for it to be put up for a vote.
Johnson argued Republicans have voted numerous times to fund DHS only for the bills to die in the Senate due to lack of Democrat support to overcome the 60-vote legislative filibuster.
"The discharge petition is really a petition to defund the police," Johnson said. "The law enforcement agencies that are part of the Department of Homeland Security or what they are targeting."
"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 added, noting Democrats want key agencies to go without funding unless they can reopen the border to illegal aliens.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., called the Democrats' proposal "a defund the police discharge."
"One of the dumbest political ideas maybe 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."
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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