Democrats split on shielding Coast Guard, Secret Service as DHS shutdown threat nears

Democrats are divided connected whether to spare the Coast Guard, the Secret Service and different agencies from the anticipation of a government shutdown arsenic lawmakers stay gridlocked implicit Democrats' demands for backing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

"The lawless, reckless radical who are marauding bands chaotic connected our thoroughfare — to hellhole with that," Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., told Fox News Digital, referring to the agents carrying retired President Donald Trump's migration crackdown.

"But let’s instrumentality attraction of those agencies that are doing the close thing."

Other Democrats, however, judge present is the clip to play hardball implicit the changes they privation to spot and aren't inclined to chopped deals that don't straight code their demands.

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"I don’t deliberation determination should beryllium immoderate deals truthful agelong arsenic Kristi Noem heads that department," said Rep. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla. 

"Fire her — past (they) tin person my vote."

In the aftermath of 2 deadly confrontations betwixt borderline enforcement and civilians successful Minnesota earlier successful 2026, Democrats are demanding stronger warrant requirements, a prohibition connected masks, a prohibition against radical profiling, an extremity to paramilitary constabulary and much earlier backing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which operates nether DHS.

Republicans person balked astatine those demands, arguing they would handcuff the agency’s operations.

But adjacent amid those tensions, DeLauro believes Democrats — and Republicans — tin find communal crushed to shield unrelated agencies from suffering the fallout if lawmakers can’t travel to an statement by Friday.

Until then, DHS is moving disconnected a two-week spending extension lawmakers agreed to erstwhile this aforesaid contented threatened a larger, $1.2 trillion spending bundle earlier this successful February. 

When the impasse implicit ICE looked poised to vessel the bill, lawmakers divided disconnected non-DHS backing to shrink the scope of the disagreement. DeLauro believes Congress should bash that again now.

"We are powerfully supportive of TSA, of the Coast Guard, of FEMA, of cybersecurity, of the Secret Service, and we applaud what they do," DeLauro said, listing much services that could beryllium affected.

"We are not for what ICE and CBP are doing. We are going to beryllium supportive of the different agencies."

Other Democrats, particularly moderates, agreed with DeLauro.

"Sounds reasonable," Rep. Tom Suozzi, D-N.Y., said of her idea. "I don’t deliberation anybody likes shutdowns — surely not the Coast Guard, surely not TSA."

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"I hold with that," Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, said of DeLauro’s proposal.

"Even if we bash a shutdown, ICE has $75 cardinal dollars from the large disfigured bill. So adjacent if you unopen down, the different ones get affected but the 1 you’re trying to target."

As Cuellar pointed out, Republicans allocated ample sums to ICE done Trump’s signature taxation betterment and borderline information package, which passed successful July 2025. The bundle came with capable backing to support ICE afloat for years. ICE’s fund successful 2025 was conscionable shy of $30 billion, meaning that ICE could stay operational for astatine slightest 2 years adjacent without further backing for 2026.

Still, different Democrats remained undecided astir what attack the caucus should take.

"I deliberation determination are a batch of things that person to spell into the mix," said Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla. "The astir important happening close present is the connection that we enactment connected the table. ICE indispensable beryllium reined in from the practices that they person been engaging in."

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Rep. Wesley Bell, D-Mo., echoed Wasserman Schultz’s hesitation.

"I person a batch of respect for my workfellow — a batch of respect for her. I’ll astir apt speech to her astir that. But arsenic it stands with this administration, I don’t spot immoderate mode I could bash thing but ballot no," Bell said.

"We’re expected to beryllium present to support Americans. How the medication is deploying ICE is deplorable," Bell added.

On Monday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., didn’t talk to whether helium would enactment DeLauro’s proposal.

"We don't look astatine the infinitesimal that we're successful arsenic exercising leverage implicit the different side. We privation to money the authorities successful a mode that really promotes the health, the information and the economical well-being of the American people," Jeffries said astatine a property conference.

"The shot is successful the Republicans' tribunal close now. We sent implicit a proposal," Jeffries said, referring to the 10 demands Democrats had made. "We've fixed them legislative connection arsenic it relates to the types of melodramatic reforms of DHS that the American radical are demanding, and we've heard thing but crickets from the different side."