Facing Reality: Democrats Ignore the Facts Heading into a DHS Shutdown

February 11, 2026

Washington, D.C. – Today, the Homeland Security Subcommittee held a hearing on the impacts of a potential shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). As it stands, funding is set to run out for DHS by the end of the week, and Democrats seem prepared to shut the government down, even though the bipartisan FY26 Homeland Security Appropriations Act already passed the House several weeks ago.

A shutdown of DHS would not have the impact on immigration operations that Democrats hope it would – there is plenty of funding from last year's Big, Beautiful Bill specifically meant for immigration enforcement and construction of a border wall. However, many other agencies and programs under DHS will suffer should the government shut down, including: the Coast Guard, TSA, cybersecurity and counter-terrorism efforts, FEMA, law enforcement training, and more.

Panelists from the Department of Homeland Security include:

Admiral Thomas Allan, Vice Commandant, U.S. Coast Guard
Dr. Madhu Gottumukkala, Acting Director, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency
Ha Nguyen McNeil, Acting Administrator, Transportation Security Administration
Matthew Quinn, Deputy Director, United States Secret Service
Gregg Phillips, Associate Administrator, Office of Response and Recovery, Federal Emergency Management Agency

Homeland Security Subcommittee Chairman Mark Amodei (R-NV) highlighted in his opening statement the ineffectiveness of a shutdown to address the issues Democrats are concerned with, saying, "If we shut down the Department over ICE and CBP enforcement actions in Minneapolis and my colleagues’ list of extreme policy demands, here is what will happen: immigration and removal operations will continue; wall construction will continue; and anything funded by reconciliation will continue. The good work the Department does outside of immigration enforcement will come to a screeching halt, and that’s what today’s hearing is all about."

Read Chairman Amodei's full remarks here.

Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) joined the hearing to address Democrats' abrupt abandonment of bipartisan negotiations, even after the bill passed the House with bipartisan votes. Chairman Cole said, "I find [their] position difficult to reconcile with the facts. Neither a shutdown nor a continuing resolution enhances oversight – but our bipartisan, bicameral FY26 bill did. That final, full-year legislation was negotiated in good faith across chambers and parties. It included funding for body-worn cameras and de-escalation training, invested in FEMA and cybersecurity efforts, and upheld the missions of the Coast Guard and TSA. Our Homeland Security measure is not a single-issue bill. Treating it as such ignores the full scope of impacts before us – and abandons responsible governance. Further, these actions will not achieve the objectives Democrats claim to seek."

Read Chairman Cole's full remarks here.

Rep. John Rutherford (R-FL) said, "If there is a shutdown, it is a Senate Democrat leadership shutdown being manufactured. If your men and women are furloughed, if your men and women are forced to work without pay, it's because of the Senate leadership. No doubt about it. And today's meeting is about public safety that you all provide to this country day in and day out, and in the near future. Think about the responsibility that you all are going to have around all of the NSC events coming up with the FIFA World Cup, with all the America 250 events, and we're giving you fits and stops of funding."

Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA) said, "Hearing what's truly at stake, members of Congress and members of the public need to have the information that you're going to be giving us... The things that we anticipate happening in the Senate ignore what is about to happen. And I, for one, 100% agree with you coming here to this hearing so that we know the impacts of the things that are truly being ignored."

Rep. Ashley Hinson (R-IA) said, "I find it curious how some of my colleagues gloss over the fact that taxpayers were on the hook for billions and billions of dollars in soft-sided facilities to deal with a raging border crisis, which we have now reversed course on over the last four years and we are fixing the problems that were created by the previous administration... From the Coast Guard to TSA to CISA, these officers are showing up at work to do this job while going unpaid for weeks on end. I'm sure there's incredible unease and uncertainty amongst your staff as we head into Friday, and for that, I am sorry. We are trying to fix this problem here today."

Rep. Michael Guest (R-MS) said, "As I sit here today, and I've listened to these witnesses and members of our side be lectured over the upcoming shutdown, a shutdown that we are trying to prevent, a shutdown that is driven by the Democrats in the Senate as they separated out DHS funding and then forced us to vote on a bill that only allowed funding to continue for two weeks, knowing that it was very likely we would end up right here in a government shutdown. You see, DHS funds more than just ICE. DHS pays the salary of 260,000 men and women over 22 different agencies... The men and women [at DHS] are just now digging out of the longest shutdown in government history that the Democrats forced us through in the Senate as they tried to attach unrelated legislation to a CR to keep the government funded."

Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) said, "We have major events happening. If there is a lapse in funding, if any votes against [funding DHS], it isn't a matter of just plain politics, which you often see up here. It's a matter of life and death. It's a matter of these drone attacks, they're happening all over the world. This isn't a 'what if', this isn't a video game, this isn't off in the near future. This is now... We're counting on FEMA, Department of War, and Department of Homeland Security to get that done."

Rep. Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ) said, "Make no mistake, it's not hard to understand when we have continually, in the previous shutdown and obviously in the efforts with this one, voted to keep the government open and funded, and others are voting no on that. It's not more complicated than that... I want to say that I believe strongly that shutting down the government and agencies and departments over policy disagreements is completely inappropriate and reckless. I've never supported a shutdown, and if Congress does not pass DHS funding measures, the result will be critical services to the public, as we've heard, including disaster response, law enforcement, cybersecurity, and emergency preparedness, being delayed or suspended with increased risk across the department."

Bottom line: shutdowns don't work.

And yet, Democrats are set to shut the government down for the third time in recent months. This isn't responsibility, and it's not what the American people elected them to do. Shutdowns have very real, negative impacts on real people.

As appropriators heard in today's hearing, multiple agencies critical to the safety and security of American communities are in the crosshairs over Democrat complaints that have already been addressed in bipartisan, bicameral legislation.

Democrats did not take the topic of this hearing seriously, and wasted their time on the dais today rehashing already-negotiated compromises and berating the only agencies within DHS that will remain funded in the event of a shutdown – and therefore were not on the panel.

It's crystal clear who is governing and who is fueling chaos and obstruction.

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