Whoa — imagine being so delusional that you write “$0” in a bill, pass it at 2:20 in the morning when nobody’s watching, hop on your private jets for a two-week vacation, and then act outraged when someone reads your own words back to you. Bravo, Senate Democrats. Truly masterful governance.
We are now over 40 days into the longest government shutdown in American history, and Chuck Schumer is strutting around Capitol Hill like he just scored the game-winning touchdown. “I’m very proud of our Democratic caucus,” Schumer declared. “We held the line.”
Held the line. Against ICE. The agency that busts child sex trafficking rings and removes violent gang members from your neighborhood. Chuck Schumer is “proud” that he defunded them. He actually called ICE a “rogue and deadly militia” — out loud, on camera, with a straight face. That’s not some pink-haired activist on TikTok. That’s the Senate Minority Leader of the United States describing federal law enforcement officers who risk their lives so your kids can walk to school safely.
This is who Democrats are. This is what they want for your country. Remember that the next time one of them stands at a podium and pretends to care about “public safety.”
Johnson went on Fox News and didn’t mince words. “They sent us a bill that literally put the number zero in the bill for the funding of border security and customs and immigration enforcement,” he said. “We can’t do that.” He also pointed out that gutting ICE and CBP means hanging 98,000 federal employees out to dry — real people doing real work, unlike the DEI consultants Democrats never seem to have trouble finding money for.
Oh, and the best part? The whole fight is basically theater. Republicans already locked in $75 billion for ICE last summer through Trump’s big reconciliation package, and the agency still has access to what’s left of a nearly $140 billion pot from last year’s megabill. ICE isn’t going broke. Democrats know this. They didn’t care. They wanted the symbolic victory of sticking “$0” next to ICE’s name, and they got their little moment — at 2:20 in the morning, with a voice vote, and a handful of senators on the floor.
“It is unconscionable to me that the Democrats would force some sort of negotiation at three o’clock in the morning and try to hoist this upon the American people and then get on their jets and go home for their holiday,” Johnson fumed. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) was more direct: “Could the Senate be any more lazy than to send to us a bill that doesn’t do the job and then leave town?”
The answer, Chip, is no. No they could not.
Meanwhile, guess who’s actually suffering while Congress plays these games? TSA officers. More than 480 of them have walked off the job since this shutdown started. Callout rates hit 50% at some airports. Fifty percent! Acting TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeill told Congress that her officers are sleeping in their cars, selling blood plasma to make rent, and staring down eviction notices.
Selling. Blood. Plasma. So members of Congress can play chicken with each other and then fly home first class for recess.
Elon Musk actually offered to pay TSA workers out of his own pocket. The White House had to turn him down because of legal conflicts with his federal contracts. So we’ve reached the point where a private citizen is begging to do what Congress won’t — and the government says, “Sorry, the paperwork won’t allow it.” Peak Washington right there.
Even Delta Airlines had enough of these clowns. The airline yanked its VIP escort service and red carpet treatment for members of Congress and their staff. No more skipping the security lines while TSA agents sell their blood to keep the lights on. Johnson said he agreed “100% with the decision.” Sure would be nice if Congress earned those perks back by actually showing up and doing their jobs.
The House fired back Friday night with a 213-203 vote to fully fund DHS for eight weeks — and three Democrats even crossed the aisle to vote yes. Schumer immediately declared it “dead on arrival.” Of course he did. Democrats don’t want this solved. They want a campaign ad. They’d rather let TSA officers starve than give President Trump a win on border security.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said what we’re all thinking: “Democrats didn’t actually want a solution, they wanted an issue.” And Sen. Eric Schmitt had a warning for Schumer and his crew: “Be careful what you wish for. The filibuster cannot save you.”
The entire Democrat strategy boils down to this: defund the cops who remove criminal illegal aliens, ram it through in the dead of night, flee town on private jets, and then blame Republicans for the mess. It’s the same garbage they pull every single time — break something, then scream that the other side won’t fix it fast enough.
Johnson should frame that “$0” page from the Senate bill and hang it in the Capitol rotunda. Let every American voter see exactly what Democrats think your family’s safety is worth.
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