The partial government shutdown that took effect at midnight after Congress failed to pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security puts border security, airport operations, and disaster response at risk while Democrats play political games, Rep. Beth Van Duyne said on Newsmax Saturday.
The Texas Republican further told Newsmax's "The Count" that Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., are misreading voters by celebrating the lapse in DHS funding.
"I hope they keep holding on to that because I think, as the people have already voted last November, that's absolutely not what they want," Van Duyne said.
"They want to continue to see deportations," she added. "They want to see their communities made safe."
Van Duyne said Republicans will not accept efforts to defund immigration enforcement agencies at a time when border security operations are increasing.
"Republicans are not going to stand for not funding the very organizations, whether or not it's Immigration and Customs Enforcement or Customs and Border [Protection], that are actually securing our border for the first time in four years," she said.
The congresswoman blamed the lapse on Democratic leadership strategy, saying Schumer is under pressure from the party’s left flank.
"Chuck is also running scared because he's got this Marxist base in New York who would like to see nothing more than him taken out behind the shed and AOC brought in," Van Duyne said.
Van Duyne warned that withholding DHS funding affects more than border enforcement, pointing to TSA staffing and FEMA disaster response during ongoing winter storms.
"What they're really doing by preventing funding of DHS right now is to prevent TSA's airport operations from doing its job and disaster recovery through FEMA during the middle of these massive winter storms," she said.
She also criticized House Democrats for declining to commit to backing the Senate-passed funding bill.
"They're still playing games, they're still going to try to negotiate, and they're still going to try to get social media hits," Van Duyne said.
Van Duyne said immigration policy remains tied to political power and congressional representation.
"They do not want to lose the population, even if it means having drug cartel members, rapists, murderers, other people who have come to our country to do us harm," she said.
"This is about power. This is not about protecting people."
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