Kristi Noem's firing fails to sway Democrats as DHS shutdown drags on

By Fox News · Fox News

Democrats may be celebrating Kristi Noem's ouster from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), but they are still digging their heels in against ending the agency’s weekslong shutdown. "It’s not like Kristi Noem was the one who was involved in negotiating anything. She was a corrupt lackey. So we were dealing with the White House before, and we’re going to continue to deal with the White House at this point," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters during a press conference on Thursday. That point has since been echoed by several other Democratic lawmakers, despite Noem’s firing apparently being one of their key demands in exchange for allowing DHS to be fully funded through the remainder of this fiscal year. KRISTI NOEM OUSTED FROM HOMELAND SECURITY POST AMID RECENT TURMOIL Congressional Democrats have maintained a unified blockade of funding for the agency in pursuit of stringent reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Democrats and the White House have been negotiating, but neither side has agreed to compromise terms. And the shutdown is now guaranteed to drag on for another month, given that the House will be out for a week and the Senate is unable to advance any DHS funding legislation. "I’m waiting for them to give us an offer, make us an offering as to what it is that you want us to vote on," Rep. Lou Correa, D-Calif., said. "I want to see what the guardrails are before I vote on this funding… I don’t want us to have masked individuals in my community. I want to see body cameras. I want you to identify yourself when you’re making an arrest." Many Democrats aren’t sure that Noem’s chosen replacement, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., would be the answer to the changes they want. HOUSE DEMOCRATS VOTE TO CONTINUE DHS SHUTDOWN DESPITE IRAN THREAT, NOEM'S OUSTER Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., suggested to Fox News Digital that he was skeptical that any replacement for Noem would be more effective in the discussions, given they…