Pete Buttigieg
Immigration and Customs EnforcementMediaPolitics

Pete Buttigieg Admits DHS Shutdown Has No Impact On ICE, Still Blames GOP

RNN Staff

Former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg acknowledged during a television interview that immigration enforcement agencies already have massive funding, even as Democrats continue blaming Republicans during the ongoing fight over Department of Homeland Security funding.

Buttigieg made the remarks Sunday during an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union with host Jake Tapper while discussing the Senate standoff over a House-passed bill to fund DHS.

Tapper asked Buttigieg whether Democrats should accept what he described as a partial victory and move to reopen the department.

“Don’t you think Democrats should take what’s something of a win and start funding DHS again?” Tapper asked.

Buttigieg responded by arguing that Republicans should support Democratic proposals to fund most parts of DHS while negotiations continue over immigration enforcement agencies.

“I think Republicans should stop blocking the Democratic proposals to fund all of DHS including TSA and other parts, except for the parts that should be negotiated over which is ICE and Customs and Border Patrol,” Buttigieg said.

Buttigieg then appeared to concede that Immigration and Customs Enforcement already has enormous resources.

“Remember ICE has already gotten tens of billions of dollars of funding — it’s larger than many of the world’s militaries,” he said.

The comments come as Senate Democrats continue to block a procedural vote to advance the House-passed DHS funding bill.

The latest vote failed 51 to 46, falling short of the 60 votes needed to move forward in the Senate.

Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was the only Democrat to vote alongside Republicans to advance the legislation.

Democrats have argued that the bill should not pass because it includes funding for ICE and Customs and Border Protection without changes to immigration enforcement policies.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats want immigration enforcement agencies to operate more like traditional police departments.

“We all know that we do not have agreement on how to deal with ICE,” Schumer said before the vote.

“Democrats just want ICE to behave like any police department in America and use warrants and not wear masks,” he added.

Republicans have pushed back, arguing the standoff is the result of Democrats refusing to fund core immigration enforcement agencies.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Republicans have offered several compromise proposals, including a short-term funding resolution to reopen the department while negotiations continue.

“There have been offers made repeatedly,” Thune said on the Senate floor.

Thune urged lawmakers to approve funding not only for the Transportation Security Administration but also for other DHS components such as the United States Coast Guard and FEMA.

Democrats have attempted to pass separate funding bills for individual agencies like TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard.

Republicans blocked those efforts, arguing that splitting the package would effectively freeze funding for ICE and Customs and Border Protection.

Sen. Eric Schmitt accused Democrats of playing political games with national security funding.

“The Democrats do not want to fund the Coast Guard because they’re hell-bent on defunding ICE,” Schmitt said on the Senate floor.

Buttigieg’s remarks about ICE’s existing funding levels added another layer to the debate as lawmakers continue clashing over whether the impasse is about funding the government or deeper disagreements over immigration enforcement policies.

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