Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., said on Newsmax Saturday that Democrats should return to Washington and vote to reopen the Department of Homeland Security, accusing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., of prolonging a funding standoff that has begun to disrupt airport screening while leaving a multitude of frontline workers without pay.
In an interview on "Saturday Report," Lawler, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Democrats had allowed a broader fight over immigration enforcement to spill into core homeland security operations, including TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard.
"It is absolutely unconscionable," Lawler said.
"You don't hold the American people hostage. You don't hold our federal employees hostage," he said.
"The fact is that this is the second time he has shut down the government," he said.
"He has shut down the Department of Homeland Security, the Coast Guard, which, by the way, is deployed right now in the Middle East," he added.
"You know, the Secret Service, TSA, FEMA, they are all not being paid, and it is absolutely unconscionable," Lawler said.
Lawler reserved his sharpest criticism for Schumer, calling him "the biggest jacka** in America," and said Schumer and Jeffries "should be absolutely ashamed of themselves" for allowing the impasse to continue.
He argued that disputes over Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy should not stop Congress from restoring funding for the department and paying federal workers.
His comments came after another failed Senate vote on DHS funding.
On Thursday, March 12, the Senate failed 51-46 to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 7147, short of the 60 votes needed to pass the legislation.
The chamber then adjourned until Monday without a deal.
The fight has centered on whether Congress should pass a full-year DHS bill tied to immigration enforcement and ICE changes or move narrower measures to keep agencies operating while negotiations continue.
Democrats have pushed separate piecemeal bills for TSA, FEMA, CISA, and the Coast Guard, while Republicans have insisted on broader legislation.
Lawler cast that dispute as a failure of Democratic leadership and said it was time for Democrats to "get back to Washington and vote to open the government."
"Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, the two Democratic leaders, both from New York, should be absolutely ashamed of themselves for allowing themselves to capitulate to the far left flank of their party.
"They are putting Americans in harm's way," he said.
The impact has become increasingly visible at airports.
More than 300 TSA officers have quit during the shutdown, contributing to long lines and checkpoint disruptions at some airports as unpaid screeners remain on the job.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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