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Schumer keeps public guessing on how long Dems will refuse to fund DHS amid terror attacks
By Leo Briceno
Published March 19, 2026
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., remained silent earlier this week when asked how long Democrats intended to hold out on funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) amid a recent string of suspected terror attacks.
Fox News Digital approached Schumer with a pair of questions in the basement of the Senate.
"Is it time to fund the DHS after four domestic suspected terror attacks have occurred?" a Fox News Digital reporter asked.
"If the Republicans don’t agree to the ICE reforms that you guys want, all of them, what’s the next step? How long are you willing to leave DHS unfunded?"
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Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Democrats are trying to fund everything at DHS except for immigration operations. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Schumer deflected the questions.
"Ask the Republicans," Schumer answered.
Funding for DHS originally lapsed on Feb. 14 when Democrats refused to advance spending legislation for DHS that didn’t also include a set of demands to reform ICE. Among other changes, Democrats have conditioned their support on a ban on masks for ICE agents, stiffer warrant requirement for apprehending suspects in public and a ban on roaming patrols.
Republicans have rebuffed the demands, arguing they would handcuff President Donald Trump's immigration enforcement goals.
Republicans need at least seven Democrats to reach the 60-vote threshold to break a filibuster in the Senate, where they hold just 53 seats.
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ICE agents make an arrest in Minnesota in 2025. (DHS photo by Tia Dufour)
The standoff has overlapped with a series of domestic attacks, raising alarm among Republicans that DHS’ closure may be reducing the country’s preparedness to counter similar threats.
A vehicle ramming at a synagogue in Michigan, a university shooting in Virginia, the detonations of explosives in New York and another shooting in Texas have left Republicans like Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., calling for Democrats to abandon their demands.
"Democrats have shut down the very department charged with defending our nation from terrorism while our nation is on high alert," Barrasso said in a post to X.
In addition to ICE, DHS also manages the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Secret Service and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).
Barrasso, the Senate GOP whip, was echoed by Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security.
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Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso railed against Senate Democrats, and accused them of trying to rip apart DHS. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
He stressed the urgency to fund the department amid the U.S. conflict with Iran.
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"I urge my Democrat colleagues to make the right decision and stop playing dangerous games with DHS funding. As threats from Iran escalate, America must be fully prepared to respond and mitigate threats to the homeland," Garbarino wrote.
The funding lapse hit the one-month mark on Saturday.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/schumer-keeps-public-guessing-how-long-dems-refuse-fund-dhs