Ranking Member Thompson: Silent Republicans Unable to Defend Their Reconciliation Bill or Trump’s Unconstitutional Policies

(WASHINGTON) – Today, in the Committee on Homeland Security reconciliation markup to jam through President Trump’s agenda to give tax cuts to billionaires and gut Medicaid, Republicans not only voted down commonsense amendments to reign in the Trump administration’s reckless and unconstitutional homeland security actions, they could not utter a single argument against Democratic amendments – nor offer a defense of their $69 billion bill.

Rep. Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, released the following statement on today’s markup:

“Today was not about border security—it was about Republicans trying anything they can to buy support for their extreme, unpopular plans to give tax cuts to billionaires and gut Medicaid. While Trump is plummeting in the polls – and now even underwater on immigration – Democrats called out his gross mismanagement of DHS, his plans to dismantle key agencies, and his horrific mass deportation agenda - including the deportation of U.S. citizen children. Democrats stood united against this extreme bill.

“What was surprising was that Republicans seem so embarrassed by Donald Trump that they will not even defend him or his policies anymore. Republican silence today was a choice. They made a deal with the devil, and the devil always collects.

“Democrats fought to protect veterans from being fired, to ensure FEMA is able to respond to disasters, and to prevent the Trump administration from violating court orders, but Republicans remained silent. Then they voted every amendment down. Sadly, because of today the American people are sure to suffer.”

34 amendments Republicans voted down – and did not utter a single rebuttal against:

1. To prohibit deporting U.S. citizens
2. To prohibit deporting U.S. citizen children, including those with cancer
3. To prohibit deporting U.S. citizens to foreign prisons
4. To prohibit deporting anyone to a prison where they are not a citizen
5. To prohibit deporting anyone under the Alien Enemies Act without due process
6. To prohibit DHS from acting against a Supreme Court ruling
7. To prohibit the elimination or diminishing of FEMA
8. To prohibit the reduction in personnel or operational capacity of FEMA
9. To prohibit terminating a veteran's employment during a reduction in force
10. To prohibit FEMA from delaying or withholding grants in subsection (a)
11. To prohibit requiring communities to solely administer disaster response without FEMA
12. To prohibit deporting students
13. To prohibit deporting students without due process
14. To prohibit deporting veterans with honorable discharges
15. To prohibit sending anyone to Guantanamo Bay
16. To prohibit imposing, collecting, or enforcing tariffs on imports from Canada
17. To add local, tribal, and territorial entities within the state homeland security grant program
18. To prohibit the detention and deportation of anyone because they exercised their right to free speech
19. To make funds available to state and local governments to counter antisemitic threats
20. To prohibit deporting spouses of active-duty members of the armed forces
21. To prohibit DHS from engaging in activities that conflict with any ruling by any Federal or State court
22. To prohibit child separation
23. To fund rehiring of cyber personnel at CISA fired by DOGE
24. To prohibit preventing legal counsel for anyone being interviewed or detained on immigration offenses
25. To fund the proper medical care of people detained by CBP
26. To prohibit the deportation of pregnant women
27. To prohibit canceling collective bargaining agreements
28. To strike a restriction in order to allow the government to use funds for new and developing border surveillance technologies
29. To add grant funding for Paralympics
30. To make Paralympics eligible for grant funding
31. To investigate the admission of Tate brothers authorized by Trump administration
32. To prohibit funding to be used by DOGE
33. To prohibit cutting any FEMA grant program
34. To make $500 million available to counter hate crimes, antisemitism, and islamophobia

#  #  #

Media contact

• Print
• Email
• Tweet