With the clock ticking down to a potential government shutdown this Friday, Senate Republicans are reportedly considering a move that could leave the southern border wide open to invasion.
A group of Republican senators is now openly discussing whether to split the Homeland Security appropriations bill away from a six-bill funding package in order to avert a partial government shutdown that would impact the Pentagon and several other major federal departments, according to The Hill.
The six-bill package includes funding for the Departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, Transportation, State, and financial services-related agencies.
DHS, the very agency responsible for border security, immigration enforcement, and counterterrorism, is at risk of being left behind.
Rep. Andy Ogles wrote on X:
Democrats are trying to defund ICE, Border Patrol, FEMA, TSA, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service because Donald Trump is president. America voted for mass deportations, and DHS is delivering.
I stand with [Freedom Caucus] and will not bend when it comes to fully funding DHS, defunding sanctuary cities, and crushing the coordinated attacks on our federal agents by Soros-backed insurrectionists. Democrats have called for total war against the law of the United States. We must fight it in Congress.
Democrats are trying to defund ICE, Border Patrol, FEMA, TSA, the Coast Guard, and the Secret Service because Donald Trump is president. America voted for mass deportations, and DHS is delivering.
I stand with @freedomcaucus and will not bend when it comes to fully funding DHS,… pic.twitter.com/XnwdrFQ1oA
— Rep. Andy Ogles (@RepOgles) January 27, 2026
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, bluntly admitted that many Republicans see the writing on the wall.
“A bunch” of GOP senators, Kennedy said, would be willing to set aside DHS funding if that’s the only way to move the other bills forward.
“Sen. Thune can’t admit it because he’s got to act like a tough guy and the White House is negotiating and all of that, but most of you have been around here for a while and most of us have seen this vampire movie before,” Kennedy said on Wednesday.
Kennedy hit the nail on the head regarding the Democrat obstructionism that has brought the Senate to this brink.
“I think the Democrats don’t want to vote for a Homeland Security bill,” he said. “If that’s the case, then what are our choices? To throw out all the bills? Or one?”
While Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) claims his preference is to move all six bills together, especially since the House is currently on recess and cannot ratify changes, he is already signaling that he might cave.
Thune has not ruled out stripping the DHS funding and replacing it with a weak “Continuing Resolution” (CR) if Democrats continue to block the package.
“Government shutdowns don’t benefit anyone. We ought to pass the bill on the floor, FULLY FUND the government, and move on to other things the American people expect us to work on!” Thune told reporters.
One senior Republican senator, speaking anonymously to The Hill, admitted the GOP conference would likely capitulate if Democrats dig in their heels. “If that was all that was left, we’d probably do it,” the lawmaker said.
If the DHS funding is severed from the main package, it risks leaving border enforcement in limbo while the rest of the government gets funded.
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