President Donald Trump slammed Democrats during his State of the Union address Tuesday night for blocking Department of Homeland Security funding and opposing the removal of illegal aliens and legislation requiring a photo ID to vote.
"As we speak, Democrats in this chamber have cut off all funding for the Department of Homeland Security," Trump said in remarks that aired live on Newsmax and the free Newsmax2 streaming platform.
"It's all cut off," he said. "They have instituted another Democrat shutdown, the first one costing us 2 points on GDP [gross domestic product], which probably made them quite happy, actually. Now they have closed the agency responsible for protecting Americans from terrorists and murderers.
"Tonight, I'm demanding the full and immediate restoration of all funding for the border security, homeland security of the United States."
Senate Democrats blocked a full-year DHS appropriations bill Feb. 13, failing to secure the 60 votes needed to advance the legislation.
With temporary funding expiring, the DHS entered a partial shutdown Feb. 14, affecting agencies including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard, the Secret Service, and the Transportation Security Administration.
Funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection remains in place under prior appropriations.
"The first duty of the American government is to protect American citizens, not illegal aliens," Trump said after inviting lawmakers to stand in support of the statement.
After Democrat lawmakers stayed seated, Trump told them, "You should be ashamed of yourself not standing up. You should be ashamed of yourself.
"That is why I'm also asking you to end deadly sanctuary cities that protect the criminals and enact serious penalties for public officials who block the removal of criminal aliens," he said.
"In many cases, drug lords, murderers all over our country. They're blocking the removal of these people out of our country. And you should be ashamed of yourself."
Trump also called on Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require proof of citizenship to register to vote and a photo ID to cast a ballot.
"The cheating is rampant in our elections," Trump said amid shouts from the Democrat caucus. "All voters must show voter ID. All voters must show proof of citizenship in order to vote. And no more crooked mail-in ballots except for illness, disability, military, or travel.
"And by the way, it's polling at 89%, including Democrats, 89%."
Trump said Democrat lawmakers oppose the legislation "because they want to cheat" and urged Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to bring the bill to a vote.
"We have to stop it, John," Trump said. "And here is one more opportunity to show common sense in government."
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Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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