Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Condemning House And Senate Republicans For Needlessly Extending The DHS Shutdown

Washington, D.C. – Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke on the Senate floor slamming House and Senate Republicans for their refusal to end the DHS shutdown, and instead dragging the Senate through an unnecessary reconciliation process, at the will of Stephen Miller and President Trump. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

Like Trump’s disasters abroad, Republicans are ignoring their disasters domestically as well.

Instead of ending Trump’s disastrous war in Iran and addressing the affordability crisis that is crushing working families across the country, Republicans continue to sow chaos here at home by keeping the Department of Homeland Security in a state of shutdown.

Democrats put forward commonsense, bipartisan reforms to rein in ICE and Border Patrol’s lawless activity. Reforms, I might add, that most Americans support and that local police departments across the country practice every single day.

To be clear: Republicans could open DHS today if they wanted to.

We also passed twice, a bill that would easily fund all of DHS, aside from ICE and CBP.

But no, House Republicans would rather bog down the Senate in a partisan clown show with their reconciliation proposal.

Why? To placate Stephen Miller, an unelected ideologue that has built a career rooted in cruelty.

So let's be clear about what Republicans have chosen. Not a clean funding bill with commonsense reforms; not bipartisan solutions, because they can’t –Trump and Stephen Miller won’t let them. Instead, they fight them because Trump and Stephen Miller force them to be opposed to the commonsense proposals we have made that most Americans support.

The Republicans, here in the Senate and in the House, chose chaos. They’re dragging the Senate through a painful, arduous, and partisan reconciliation process—not because it’s the best path, but because they cannot and will not rein in ICE and Border Patrol or stop the violence. They want less accountability, not more. Because Donald Trump and Stephen Miller told them so.

That is disgraceful, dysfunctional, a disservice to the American people.

Americans want ICE and Border Patrol reined in.

They do not want to see the Senate give ICE and CBP a blank check so that these rogue agencies can continue to act with impunity, unleashing violence and disorder on our streets. They do not want to see an extremist like Stephen Miller calling the shots on American immigration policy.

Instead of listening to Americans, Republicans in the House and Senate are obeying their orders from Trump.

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