Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin lashed out at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for saying Border Patrol and ICE are agencies “that nobody respects in this country.”
"It makes my ears red," Mullin told Fox News' Bill Melugin on "America's Newsroom" on Thursday. "It takes a lot to get me upset, but, Chuck Schumer, no one respects you: The definition of a lying scumbag politician. That is you.
"You would be the definition if you Googled you right now. I mean, why don't you just come out and be honest with the American people? He wants to have open borders."
Schumer's comments were insulting to officers and agents “out there protecting you,” Mullin added.
DHS is nearing a financial breaking point after 69 days of shutdown conditions, spending roughly $1.7 billion every two weeks on payroll for 270,000 employees and can only cover pay through the first payroll in May, according to Mullin.
“We’re at critical mass,” Mullin said. "And right now Democrats can continue to play political political theater because I guess Chuck Schumer, the leader of the Democrat Party, said at that no one respects ICE and CFPB.
"That's absolutely false. That's a lie.
"The American people overwhelmingly supports deportation, deporting these illegal immigrants and enforcing our nation laws and closing our border.
"Even the polling is like an 80% issue with the American people, but the Democrats are so afraid of their primary base that they are willing to hold the homeland hostage."
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is firing back at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, calling his remarks about ICE and Border Patrol “DISGUSTING” in a post on X.
“The brave men and women of ICE and CBP are heroes who put their lives on the line every single day,” DHS said, adding the agency “will never stop fighting to keep Americans SAFE.”
The clash comes as the battle over border enforcement funding intensifies on Capitol Hill Thursday.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Thursday accused Republicans of prioritizing more money for President Donald Trump's "mass deportation machine" over broader relief for Americans.
"Republicans have made clear that their priority is to continue to fund ICE and the violent Trump mass deportation machine, as opposed to making life better for the American people," Jeffries said at his weekly leadership news conference Thursday.
"Funding for the Department of Homeland Security runs out at the end of this month, and is a bipartisan bill that would fund DHS, other than Ice and the violent mass deportation machine that was sent over by the Senate to the House weeks ago.
"Every single senator, every Democrat, and every Republican supports the bipartisan DHS funding bill that House Republicans have refused to take up because they want to continue to jam their extreme ideology down the throats of the American people."
The Senate approved the reconciliation measure early Thursday 50-48, as Republicans move to steer new border enforcement funding around a Democrat filibuster.
"We exist in an era right now where the American people are understandably frustrated with institutions because far too many people in this country are struggling to live paycheck to paycheck," Jeffries said, responding to potential frustrations aimed at his party for the shutdown.
"They can't thrive and can barely survive, and so there's a frustration with Congress, a frustration with institutional political parties, whether that's Democrats or Republicans, certainly a frustration with the courts ... and, of course, frustration with the current president of the United States of America.
"There's a great frustration that applies to every organized institution in this country, and Democrats are not immune from that."
{{#rendered}}President Donald Trump is calling for an urgent apology from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who said on the Senate floor that "nobody respects Border Patrol or ICE."
"Wow! Cryin’ Chuck Schumer just said, for the whole World to hear, that 'NOBODY RESPECTS BORDER PATROL OR ICE,'" Trump wrote Thursday morning on Truth Social.
"That is one of the most egregious, incorrect, unpatriotic, and dangerous statements I have EVER heard from a “professional” politician.
"HE MUST IMMEDIATELY APOLOGIZE TO THESE GREAT PATRIOTS, AND I MEAN NOW!"
Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said he is not ready to back the Senate’s budget framework to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol, warning he does not want the rest of the Department of Homeland Security "get squeezed" under a government shutdown.
Burchett said he has not yet reviewed the Senate framework and wants to see the details before deciding, but he made clear he is uneasy with any plan that leaves other DHS employees like those at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) exposed while Congress moves separately on border enforcement funding.
“I just want to make sure we don’t put the screws to the folks,” Burchett said. “We’ve got, of course, TSA and the rest: I’m sick of using them as the whipping post out here.”
He said he could support the broader strategy if Republicans have a clear agreement to also fund the rest of DHS, but otherwise sees “a problem with it.”
Fox News' Chad Pergram contributed to this report.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La. said the House will have to move quickly on the Senate’s funding bill, warning there is no time to wait for a slower budget reconciliation process as the agency faces a looming cash crunch.
The urgency became clear after a conversation with Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Johnson said Thursday, stressing that DHS is nearing the end of its available funding.
“I talked with Secretary Markwayne Mullin [Wednesday] about the urgency of the timing of the matter: He will run out of money, literally at the end of the month," Johnson said. "The last paychecks pay cycle goes out into this month, so we don't have time to go through a laborious reconciliation process by the end of next week.
"That's the challenge.”
The comments signal Johnson is prepared to advance the Senate measure rather than wait for Republicans to build a broader reconciliation package, which could take longer and face procedural hurdles.
That would mark a notable shift as House Republicans weigh how to respond to the Senate’s push to lock in funding for ICE and Border Patrol.
Johnson’s stance also underscores the pressure on House leaders to act before DHS funding problems deepen, even as some conservatives continue to push for a wider immigration and border package. For now, the speaker is making the case that speed, not scope, has become the immediate priority.
Fox News' Tyler Olson contributed to this report.
{{#rendered}}House Republicans expect to answer the Senate’s reconciliation move with a two-track strategy, according to Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., on Thursday.
“My expectation is that we’re going to pass a normal appropriations bill that excludes ICE and Customs and Border Protection, and then we’re going to pass a reconciliation that includes ICE and Customs and Border Protection, but includes it and funds it throughout the term of the Trump administration,” Gimenez told Thursday morning's "Mornings With Maria" on Fox Business.
"That way, it cannot be used as leverage to shut down this department in the future."
Gimenez said Republicans are going to take Democrats' "no" for an answer and just work around it.
"If the Democrats have heartburn about funding, customs, Border Protection and ICE, then don't worry about it: We will handle it ourselves," he told host Maria Bartiromo. "But this is all on the Democrats, and we can't have them, you know, hold the entire department hostage because of their crazy stance on ICE and Customs and Border Protection.
"So we'll take care of it through reconciliation, combination of reconciliation and a normal appropriations bill.
"That's the way we'll handle it.
"And then we'll take away that card, come September through reconciliation."
Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said Thursday the House is not ready to simply accept the Senate’s narrow budget reconciliation approach, arguing Republicans should pursue a broader package instead of isolating funding for ICE and Border Patrol.
House Republicans support funding both agencies but are still debating whether the Senate’s approach is too limited, according to Roy on Fox Business' "Mornings With Maria."
"We don’t like isolating ICE and Border Patrol," Roy told host Maria Bartiromo. "This is not the way to do business.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, voted with Republicans on Thursday morning but urged a wider bill.
"I actually agree with Sen. Cruz," Roy continued. "We should be taking a broader approach to reconciliation.”
Roy said he expects the Senate to finish moving its bill, but made clear the House will have to decide whether to accept that narrower framework or push for a wider package covering more of the Department of Homeland Security.
He said lawmakers are still “wrestling with” the mechanics and warned that funding only part of DHS now could create another fight later this year.
“Obviously the Senate has moved this bill," Roy continued. "We’ll see if they get it through the Senate. I think they will.
“Then we’re going to have to decide in the House what we do.”
Roy also suggested the Senate’s slimmed-down strategy may have contributed to Republican defections, saying some conservatives are uneasy with a reconciliation bill focused only on ICE and Border Patrol.
While he praised the Senate for trying to move border funding, Roy said House Republicans want to be “more aggressive” and are pressing for a larger reconciliation package if leadership can assemble the votes.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer , D-N.Y., tried to gum up Senate Republicans with amendments in the early morning vote-a-rama.
"This reconciliation, or this budget act, will show who’s on whose side, and clearly if Republicans vote against our amendments, they’re not on the side of the American people,” Schumer said on the Senate floor Thursday morning.
Democrats used Thursday’s budget debate to force a series of politically charged votes.
Republicans, however, move forward in a broader effort to lock in border security funding without needing Democrat support.
“We have a multistep process ahead of us but at the end Republicans will have helped ensure that America’s borders are secure and prevented Democrats from defunding these important agencies,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said on the floor.
GOP senators aim to move a package next month to fund ICE and Border Patrol through 2029, with a projected cost of roughly $70 billion to $80 billion. Before that can happen, however, the House must pass its own budget resolution and lawmakers in both chambers must reconcile any differences.
Under the Senate budget resolution unveiled by Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, the Homeland Security and Judiciary committees would be directed to draft legislation to fund the agencies for 3 1/2 years. While the resolution allows up to $140 billion in deficit impact on paper, Republican aides say the final package is expected to come in at about half that amount, and Thune is urging senators to keep it tightly focused to speed it through Congress.
The Senate voted 98-0 to adopt a Republican amendment from Graham that would establish a deficit-neutral fund supporting ICE operations to apprehend, detain and expedite the deportation of adults convicted of rape, murder or sexual abuse of a minor after entering the United States illegally.
Lawmakers rejected other Republican amendments calling for legislation to require proof of citizenship in voting and other election restrictions, a ban on Medicaid funding for transgender surgery on minors, and cuts in foreign aid, science and education programs to pay for the ICE and Border Patrol funding.
Reuters contributed to this report.
{{#rendered}}Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., reportedly said Thursday he does not have assurances from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., that he will take up the Senate budget resolution as written.
Thune told Punchbowl News he hoped the Senate’s action would increase pressure on House GOP leaders to move the broader Department of Homeland Security funding bill, but acknowledged the path forward remains shaky.
“It didn’t seem like this should be that heavy a lift,” Thune said. “But nothing is easy these days.”
Thune also voiced frustration with Johnson’s refusal to quickly advance the DHS funding bill even as the White House has warned the department is running short of money.
“That seemed like a plan that would be pretty easy to execute, but obviously proved not to be in the House ,” Thune told Punchbowl. “We sent it over there twice, and the last time with the understanding — the White House, everybody — that they were going to move it.”
The Senate passed its budget resolution early Thursday 50-48, marking the first formal step toward a reconciliation package to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol without Democrat votes.
But the process cannot move ahead unless the House adopts its own budget resolution and both chambers resolve any differences, leaving Johnson with major leverage over the next phase.
Thune said he wants the White House more directly involved in pushing the House to pass both the budget resolution and the DHS funding bill.
Two senators did not vote Thursday morning as the Senate moved forward on the budget reconciliation measure to fund Customs and Immigration Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol.
Warner was absent after the recent death of his adult daughter Madison, 36, from juvenile diabetes.
Grassley also missed the vote after undergoing a procedure last week to remove gallstones.
Their absences slightly narrowed the voting pool but did not change the outcome, as the Senate still advanced the measure 50-48.
Fox News' Alex Miller contributed to this report.
Four Senate Republicans broke with their party to help block an amendment from Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., that sought to fold major pieces of the SAVE America Act into the overnight budget reconciliation vote.
They are a who's who of Senate GOP detractors of President Donald Trump.
Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, Thom Tillis, R-N.C. and Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., voted against Kennedy’s proposal, which called on the Senate Rules Committee to draft legislation requiring proof of identity for voters, limiting voting to U.S. citizens in federal elections and ending early voting.
The motion to waive budget rules and attach the amendment failed 48-50, with all Democrats present voting no.
Kennedy has long argued the Senate should try to advance the measure through reconciliation, even though some Republicans, including the bills primary sponsor Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, warning the proposal may not survive the Byrd Rule, which limits policy provisions in budget bills.
“They may be right,” Kennedy said on the floor. “But you know what else? They can’t predict the future. They’re not clairvoyant.”
Democrats blasted the broader SAVE America Act, with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer calling it a threat to democracy. The failed vote came as the Senate shifted away from weeks of debate on the elections bill and moved to pass a budget resolution aimed at setting up a separate reconciliation package to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol through 2029.
{{#rendered}}Sens. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Rand Paul, R-Ky., broke with fellow Republicans again early Thursday, voting against a Senate budget reconciliation resolution that could help pave the way to ending the two-month shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security.
The measure still passed 50-48, despite opposition from the two GOP senators, both of which have been the object of President Donald Trump's ire for not backing the Republican agenda in the Senate.
Murkowski, a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, objected to the resolution because it would set up a budget reconciliation package to fund Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol for 3 1/2 years, effectively moving the agencies outside the annual appropriations process.
She supports funding both agencies, but opposed sidestepping Congress’ yearly funding and oversight role.
Paul voted no after arguing Senate Republicans should not approve another $70 billion for ICE and Border Patrol while the agencies still have more than $100 billion in unobligated funding from last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“Congress ought to fund border security but we should be good stewards of the taxpayer dollars and fully pay for the $70 billion to secure our borders,” Paul said on the Senate floor.
Paul offered an amendment to offset the new spending by cutting $5 billion from refugee welfare programs, $4 billion from the National Science Foundation and 16% from the Department of Education. The amendment failed.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he hopes the House will adopt the budget resolution without changes, warning that any revisions would force the measure back to the Senate and slow work on the broader reconciliation package.
Senate Republicans pushed their immigration funding plan forward early Thursday, adopting a budget blueprint after an all-night vote series that sets up billions for ICE and Border Patrol while sidelining Democrats.
Senate Republicans adopted their budget resolution, which tees up funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Border Patrol, and effectively cuts congressional Democrats out of the process entirely.
It’s the first major step toward unlocking the budget reconciliation process, which Republicans are diving into once again after Democrats refused to fund ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) without stringent reforms.
Despite Republicans largely being on the same page on the approach, Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, voted against the budget blueprint.
This is an excerpt from Fox News' Alex Miller's report. Get the full story here.
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