Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On House Republicans’ Partisan Antics Holding Up DHS Funding

Washington, D.C. – Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) spoke on the Senate floor, following the shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner on Saturday night, on House Republicans’ failure to fund Secret Service, and other DHS agencies, despite the fact that the Senate unanimously passed a bipartisan funding bill twice. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks:

I am – we are all – relieved that no one was seriously injured in the shooting at the White House Correspondents Dinner over the weekend. No matter the perpetrator and no matter the motive, political violence endangers our democracy.

I denounce political violence in all its forms, as I always have and always will.

I commend law enforcement’s swift response to apprehend the gunman, which undoubtedly saved many lives. That includes the Secret Service.

I just heard Leader Thune lashing out. I sympathize with him, he’s in a real pickle, he’s fighting with his own Republican party Speaker of the House. His caucus here is factionalized on what to do, as to how we fund both ICE and CPB, and even DHS. [He’s] in a mess. So, what does the Republican leader do? He points fingers at Democrats. That’s absurd.

The idea that somehow Democrats are to blame for this Republican shutdown of DHS is just ridiculous. And Thune and his Republican leadership ought to act like adults and help us solve this problem during serious, serious times like these, instead of pointing fingers in another direction. At this very moment, funding for Secret Service and so many other agencies is sitting idly in the House of Representatives, waiting for Republicans to act. Not waiting for Democrats – we don’t run the House - waiting for Republicans. And Republicans somehow, especially the right-wing propaganda, just blame Democrats with no logic, no rationale.

What Republican right-wing propaganda is saying, but it couldn’t be further from the truth.

Democrats have wanted to fund all the other law-abiding agencies at DHS, and we worked with Republicans, Leader Thune, here in the Senate to do it.

Democrats looked to compromise with Republicans as we pushed for commonsense reforms for ICE and other agencies.

And twice, Democrats and Republicans in the Senate unanimously passed a bill that would fund all of the agencies within DHS except for ICE and Border Patrol, which are already funded. Let me say that again: Democrats unanimously—unanimously—supported funding the vast majority of DHS, including Secret Service, not once but twice. We passed it in the Senate not once but twice.

It was House Republicans – not Democrats – who blocked funding for Secret Service, TSA, CISA, Coast Guard, FEMA, and the other agencies that we all agree should be funded.

House Republicans could—and should—fund Secret Service today, but instead they’re holding it up. And so, Leader Thune, if he wants to be constructive, if he wants to get something done, then stop pointing fingers in this direction and start looking in the mirror. At least look down the hall and start talking some sense to the House Republicans, who seem to be tied in a knot because the right wing MAGA few refuse to go forward.

Republicans ought to start standing up to Speaker Johnson and the House Freedom Caucus and say: we must fund this and that applies to the Republican Leader who has a greater responsibility than just inanely pointing fingers to the other side of the aisle.

To the Republicans, House, Senate: stop with the partisan games, advance the bipartisan bill that we all passed unanimously in the Senate, and we can get the funding for Secret Service and other agencies done.

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