Press Releases

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Tim Kennedy released the following statement following House Republicans’ decision to block the bipartisan agreement to end the shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS):

“President Trump, Speaker Johnson, and House Republicans have made it clear to the American people that they own this shutdown. By rejecting a bipartisan bill unanimously passed by the U.S. Senate, they are demonstrating, once again, their inability to govern. Instead of restoring order at our airports and ensuring workers are paid, they are pushing voter suppression and endorsing ICE brutality upon the American people. 

“I was prepared to vote yes on the bipartisan Senate bill to fund TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard to safeguard our homeland’s security and end the madness at our nation's airports. Instead, I was forced to vote against a hyperpartisan bill that gives even more money to ICE with no assurances that this out-of-control agency that is terrorizing communities will follow the law or the Constitution. 

“House Democrats, Senate Democrats, and Senate Republicans are prepared to reopen our government and deliver for the American people. Speaker Johnson must bring the Senate bill to the floor immediately and end this shutdown.” 

###