Pence: Democrats’ DHS funding fight ‘unconscionable’ as US faces threats ‘at home and abroad’
EXCLUSIVE — Former Vice President Mike Pence says that the move by congressional Democrats to hold up Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding amid American military strikes on Iran and...
By Fox News · Fox News
EXCLUSIVE — Former Vice President Mike Pence says that the move by congressional Democrats to hold up Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding amid American military strikes on Iran and twin terror-style attacks in the U.S. is indefensible. "At a time that American armed forces are taking the fight to the leading state sponsor of terrorism, it is unconscionable that Democrats in Washington, D.C., continue to refuse to fund the Department of Homeland Security," Pence said this week in an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital. Pence spoke as congressional Democrats and Republicans remain unmoved in their political fight over President Donald Trump 's unprecedented crackdown on illegal immigration. The policy standoff triggered a shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security over a month ago. FIRST ON FOX: HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO HOLD HEARING ON DHS SHUTDOWN RISKS Democrats, who are demanding a significant overhaul of the crackdown by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), have repeatedly tried to force Trump and Republicans to fund DHS’ other key functions, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the Coast Guard and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). But Republicans have stood firm against slicing up DHS funding and argue that Democrats are the ones blocking the funding. CORNYN BLASTS 'DEFUND THE POLICE' DEMOCRAT FOR HOLDING TSA AGENTS 'HOSTAGE' DURING AIRPORT CLASH The partial shutdown has forced critical staff, including TSA agents, to work without pay, and has sparked significant travel delays and staff resignations. Heightening tensions were last week's twin terror incidents, the attack on a Michigan synagogue and the fatal shooting of an ROTC instructor at Virginia's Old Dominion University. LATEST EFFORT TO END DHS FUNDING STANDOFF GOES NOWHERE "I must tell you, during my years in the Congress and my years as vice president, it's very clear to me, having been in Washington, D.C., on September the 11th, having had inn…