\n<\/p>\n
Funding for the Department of Homeland Security resumed after a 75-day shutdown \u2014 but Democrats are already threatening to cut funding again in September if their demands are not met.<\/p>\n
Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), a ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said Democrats would \u201cabsolutely\u201d shut down DHS again if Republicans do not agree to proposed reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) \u2014 such as banning law enforcement officers from wearing masks and requiring judicial warrants for immigration-related arrests.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn America, police shouldn\u2019t wear masks while walking the streets,\u201d Thompson said, ignoring the dramatic uptick in threats and violent assaults against immigration enforcement officers and their families. \u201cThey need identification, they need cameras, and they need judicial warrants.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nNEW: Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS) says Democrats \u201cabsolutely\u201d may shut down DHS again in September if the ICE\/CBP reforms they demanded aren\u2019t included in the next DHS approps bill. Dems failed to get any reforms with this shutdown & GOP plans to go around them to fund ICE\/CBP. https:\/\/t.co\/FOjRZcXOvf<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) May 2, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The House of Representatives ended the record-setting shutdown on Thursday after passing a bill funding most of the DHS \u2014 including the Transportation Security Administration and the Secret Service \u2014 through the end of September. ICE and Customs and Border Patrol were left out of the measure. Republicans are relying on a reconciliation bill \u2014 which would let the Senate bypass the 60-vote procedural threshold and thus the Democrats\u2019 demands \u2014 to move ahead with funding for ICE and CBP.<\/p>\n
The shutdown began in February after Democrats refused to approve DHS funding unless Republicans agreed to include sweeping federal immigration enforcement reforms. Travelers spent<\/a> hours in TSA security lines at major airports, and the Coast Guard faced<\/a> utility shutoffs at military installations.<\/p>\n
Despite the hardships shouldered by everyday Americans during such shutdowns, Thompson was clear that Democrats are willing to trigger another shutdown if they do not get what they want.<\/p>\n
CNN\u2019s Victor Blackwell pressed Thompson on his answer, asking whether Democrats were willing to force government employees to go without pay again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you say \u2018absolutely,\u2019 that suggests that there could be another shutdown, and there could be another lapse in pay for those TSA workers, the Coast Guard, if Democrats withhold those votes at the end of September,\u201d Blackwell said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAbsolutely. Victor, look, we have to stand for democracy. If we have to fight for it, there has to be sacrifice,\u201d Thompson added, apparently unconcerned with the fact that it would be average American families making the \u201csacrifice\u201d he was so quick to offer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n