LIZ PEEK: Voters tell Congress 'do your job' and end the DHS showdown
Americans are furious, and rightly so.
Squabbling between Democrats and Republicans in Congress has led to a partial shutdown of our government and a whole lot of aggravation for millions of Americans traveling for spring break. It is an outrage.
Democrats refuse to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, to show their anger over deportation activities in Minnesota that left two protesters dead. But ICE has been funded through 2029; Democrats’ stubbornness is pointless, but painful. Cutting off monies flowing to the Transportation Security Administration and other parts of the DHS that have nothing to do with border control, has crippled airport security.
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Republicans refuse to cater to Democrat showboating; they are blocking attempts to fund only those parts of the DHS that Hakeem Jeffries and his colleagues will agree to, which includes the TSA.
I say — fix this. As wait times in airports extend to multiple hours, with security lines snaking around terminals, Congress needs to do its job.
There’s a reason that Congress’ popularity is in the gutter. Gallup’s last read on how Americans view Congress shows only 16% approving of the job our House and Senate members are doing. 16%! That’s one of the worst ratings on record, surpassed only by the 14% approval Congress earned when it was shut down last November. The lowest approval rating on record — a ghastly 9% — was posted in November 2013, during yet another federal budget impasse. There’s a message there: get to work.
Surveys show NFL replacement referees, colonoscopies and toenail fungus among the many items that are more popular than Congress. But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer might be less amused to hear that ICE — the agency Democrats love to hate — also has higher approval ratings than Congress.
Americans are split on whom to blame for the TSA nightmare. Republicans blame Democrats, who have now shut down our government four times in the past 18 months. Schumer seems convinced that opposing President Trump is his number one mission — the country be damned. Polling over the past year has shown Democrats angry that their legislators are not doing more to block Trump’s agenda. Schumer, along with his House counterpart Hakeem Jeffries, is responding to those polls by refusing to pay TSA, FEMA and some Coast Guard personnel. It is a lousy way to treat hundreds of thousands of hard-working government employees.
Republicans have balked at Democrats’ offer to fund only parts of DHS, including the TSA, confident that Schumer et al. will let the lapse in ICE and Border Patrol funding continue indefinitely. Democrats have so demonized the agencies responsible for protecting our border that not paying the folks who track down child traffickers and people on the terror watch list seems a winning strategy.
This, despite our country suffering no less than four terror attacks in recent weeks and continuing to be at risk thanks to the war with Iran and four years of President Joe Biden allowing millions to cross our border unchecked. It is unconscionable that Democrats are denying their fellow countrymen the protections afforded by the Department of Homeland Security, which was forged in the ashes of the Islamic terror attacks on September 11, 2001, to keep us safe. Yes, long TSA lines are aggravating, but failing to protect our country is a much graver offense.
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The White House and Republicans have made numerous concessions to Democrats, including requiring that ICE agents wear body cameras and also not permitting enforcement activities in sensitive locations like schools and churches. In addition, Senator Markwayne Mullin, who is President Trump’s nominee for incoming Homeland Security chief to replace Kristi Noem, has indicated he will agree to further Democrat demands, such as requiring judicial warrants as opposed to administrative warrants, thus slowing enforcement activities.
But President Trump and those in charge of ICE will not ban agents from wearing masks. They are required to carry identification, and to provide that upon request, but wearing masks helps protect them and their families from being doxxed by activists who have decided that these federal law enforcement officials are the enemy. ICE agents have come under increasing attack in recent months; there have been instances of pro-immigrant groups publishing their names and home addresses, and also assaulting officers. Apparently, Democrats want to encourage more of the same by prohibiting the wearing of masks, thus making ICE agents more easily identifiable.
This coming Friday, TSA employees will have gone a month without a paycheck. Is it any wonder that many are not showing up for work. Is it any wonder that the security lines are only getting longer?
The White House is dispatching ICE agents to airports across the U.S. in an effort to help the TSA, which is struggling with depleted ranks. It will be the ultimate irony if ICE agents meaningfully help airports return to normal. That will likely make Democrats even angrier.
Meanwhile, the American public is nearing the boiling point, furious at both parties for not resolving the DHS funding roadblock. Some Republicans (of the RINO variety, like Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski) are ready to cave to Democrat demands and provide funding for the TSA and other non-ICE agencies. Texas Senator Ted Cruz has a better idea, which is to fund the TSA, FEMA and the Coast Guard immediately and to create another budget reconciliation bill which could pass later in the year in order to secure money for ICE.
Republicans should follow Cruz’ suggestion. They can use the reconciliation process to achieve other high priority objectives, including providing funding for the SAVE Act. Using the reconciliation approach, which permitted the passage of the Big Beautiful Bill, allows the narrow GOP majority to bypass the filibuster problem, and get on with the nation’s work.
That’s a win-win, and that’s what the country wants right now.