Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen said Sunday that his party is not blocking funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) after House Republicans did not take up a vote on the Senate-passed bill to fund most of the department.
«We’re not holding up all of the money for all the Department of Homeland Security,» Van Hollen told ABC News’ «This Week» co-anchor Jonathan Karl. «That’s just a false statement. We have said repeatedly, repeatedly, we should fund [the Transportation Security Administration].»
Democrats blocked funding for DHS more than a month ago, demanding reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after federal agents shot and killed U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. Since the shutdown began, Transportation Security Administration (TSA) officers have missed paychecks and called out from work, leading to hours-long lines at the nation’s busiest airports.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Maryland, appears on ABC News’ «This Week» on March 29, 2026.
ABC News
Democrats have since proposed passing a bill to fund components of DHS, including TSA and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), while leaving out funding for ICE unless reforms are made. The Senate unanimously passed such a proposal early Friday morning, but House Republicans did not take up the measure, instead passing a bill to fund DHS entirely.
«You had a bipartisan bill, Republicans and Democrats, passed the Senate that would immediately fully fund TSA and by the way, FEMA and the Coast Guard while we continue to negotiate reforms to ICE, a lawless ICE operation. And the Republican speaker of the House refused to even have a vote on that in the House and went home.»
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise defended the House’s position on Sunday, telling Karl that some senators regret their vote without sharing their names.
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«We actually read their bill, and frankly, a number of senators have expressed buyer’s remorse with what they did at 3 in the morning,» Scalise said. «One of the things that we had real concerns with is it actually defunds over 25% of the baseline operations of the Department of Homeland Security, 25% at a time when we’re at a heightened threat level.»
Karl pressed Van Hollen on what Democrats will push for after the Trump administration had agreed to some of the reforms Democrats demanded, including body cameras for ICE agents.
«Let me ask you, the White House did agree to some reforms, as you were negotiating all of this … what’s happened due to that? I mean, that was at least something you were getting,» Karl asked.
«They were not willing to make meaningful reforms, in my view,» Van Hollen said. «We want some independent, credible review. We don’t think you can trust the agency that called Renee Good and Alex Pretti domestic terrorists to conduct a credible, independent investigation. I mean, do you think that would be credible? They refused to do that.»
