Sen. James Lankford (R-OK) said Democrats are “demanding” multiple “absurd” requests in the reform for the Department of Homeland Security.
The House of Representatives rejected a Senate deal to reopen DHS as it continues its weekslong shutdown, pushing to fund all of DHS through May 22. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said the Democratic caucus “held the line” with this deal, which doesn’t fund U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement or border security operations through Customs and Border Protection.
Lankford vented about how “difficult” it is to work with Democrats who don’t want to fund ICE, and said this new deal doesn’t provide any new funding for ICE and CBP. He said Senate Republicans “pre-funded” both agencies for the next three years under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act passed in 2025 to avoid future funding fights on border security.
“What Democrats were asking for for ICE and CBP on their quote-unquote reforms were absolutely absurd,” Lankford said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “They asked for things, for instance, like ICE could not be at polling places. Well, if you’re not legally present, you shouldn’t be voting in America, but Democrats were demanding that ICE agents would not go to a polling place.”
“They were demanding body-worn cameras, which we were fine with and said, ‘Yes, absolutely, let’s add funding for body worn cameras.’ Then they brought back language and said, “Well, the body-worn cameras can only be the footage – can only be used to prosecute agents. They can’t be used to prosecute anyone else on the film, that is anyone else that would actually be not legally be present in the country.’”
Lankford added that Republicans want to reopen DHS amid this “very frustrating negotiation.” Meet the Press anchor Kristen Welker noted that the Senate vote on this deal “was unanimous,” and said it seems Republicans aren’t “on the same page.”
Welker then asked Lankford about the strain airport security is facing amid this shutdown, amid the war in Iran, and whether it is safe to travel at this time. The senator assured Welker that it is safe to travel, saying “a lot of great patriots” are working unpaid as they “protect the nation.”
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Lankford added that cybersecurity professionals are needed, but they’re “not being funded” at the time, calling for Congress to rectify this.
Trump announced Thursday that he will sign an executive order to pay thousands of Transportation Security Administration workers as the DHS shutdown continues. Border czar Tom Homan said TSA officers could be paid as early as Monday.