Rep. Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., said on Newsmax Thursday that the Department of Homeland Security funding lapse is "outrageous" and it leaves the country exposed at a moment he described as increasingly dangerous abroad and at home.
As of Thursday, DHS remained in a partial shutdown, with The Associated Press reporting that TSA workers were still screening passengers and about 95% were deemed essential, while President Donald Trump fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and named Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., as his choice to replace her.
Lawmakers are still divided on how to fund DHS, even after Trump dismissed Noem. Democrats welcomed her removal but insisted that it would not resolve the DHS shutdown, which is about to reach its fourth week.
"This is a problem of policy, not personnel," Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters Thursday.
Asked whether it was a bad time for Democrats to shut down DHS, Zinke said, "We are in conflict in the Middle East," and added, "You and I both know they're sleeper cells." He said the timing made the lapse especially serious and called it "outrageous."
He then tied that warning to what he said would be a broader operational hit inside the department.
"Shutting down the government doesn't shut down ICE," Zinke said. It "shuts down everything else like the back room or the Coast Guard" and "puts this country at greater risk."
The exchange then turned to which parts of DHS bear the pressure during a lapse.
Zinke said there is a way to get this done.
"If they actually do a CR right, what that does is it gives ICE more money without restrictions. And if they pass the bill that we passed today out of the House, guess what? ICE funding goes down slightly, and they [Democrats] get modest restrictions. So [that’s] the best option," he said
Pressed on the security implications, Zinke returned to the same theme. "We know there's sleeper cells here," he said. "You know we're in a conflict with Iran. That's serious."
He broadened that point by naming groups he said operate beyond the region. "Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, you know, they are not just in the Middle East," Zinke said. He added that "Venezuela, as an example, [has] the highest concentration of Hezbollah and Hamas outside the Middle East."
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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