On Saturday’s broadcast of MS NOW’s “The Weekend,” Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR) argued that Republicans want to shut down DHS and “we don’t want to give a penny more to ICE. That’s our position, because ICE has become secret police” and it has plenty of funding.

Merkley said, “Well, they want it shut down. And here’s the way it works: You’ve got the Coast Guard as a hostage, you’ve got TSA as a hostage, and you’ve got FEMA as a hostage. So, every single day, we go to the floor, ask unanimous consent to free those hostages, fund those key three agencies. No, we don’t want to give a penny more to ICE. That’s our position, because ICE has become secret police…and they have plenty of money, both.”

He continued, “And, every single day, the Republicans say, no, we’re not going to fund TSA. Nope, we’re not going to fund FEMA. Nope, we’re not going to fund Coast Guard. And then they go on media and say, Democrats are blocking these agencies. So, we’re going to keep going back every day and try to free those hostages. They’re going to keep blocking it, and they’re going to keep lying to the American people.”

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