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Sens. John Kennedy (R-LA) and Peter Welch (D-VT) on DHS Shutdown
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March 20, 2026
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3:07Now PlayingSens. John Kennedy (R-LA) and Peter Welch (D-VT) discuss the Homeland Security Department shutdown amid a standoff over potential reforms to immigration enforcement operations.
Sen. Welch called on lawmakers to fund all parts of the department unrelated to immigration enforcement, saying both parties were engaging in "hostage-taking."
"I want to fund every single thing where we don't have any disagreement. The only place where we do have disagreement is ICE," he said. "There's no impediment to us opening up literally every other element of government that's affected."
Sen. Kennedy warned that approach could lead Republicans to try to fund ICE through the reconciliation process, which would allow them to bypass the Senate filibuster and approve funding with a simple majority.
"The Republicans are going to put a reconciliation bill on the floor that only requires to fund ICE, and the Democrats don't have the votes to stop us," he said. "Now that to me is a resolution to this. I don't think my Democratic friends are going to like it but that's what's going to happen if we do it that way."
Ceasefire with Sen. John Kennedy (RLA) & Sen. Peter Welch (DVT), Dasha Burns hosts 7pm ET on CSPAN
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