Moskowitz: Reopening DHS Was Going ‘Nowhere’ if Noem in Charge, Dems Should Stick to Policies in Shutdown That’s Noem’s Fault

On Thursday’s broadcast of MS NOW’s “Katy Tur Reports,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) discussed the prospects of reopening DHS in the wake of Kristi Noem’s removal as secretary by saying that reopening the agency was going “nowhere so long as she was there. You’re not going to vote for policy and then think that she’s going to implement it.” But the agency won’t automatically result in a reopening and Democrats “should not abandon our principles or our policies. We should go and we should negotiate and we should argue for them.”

Moskowitz said, “I don’t think it’s a 1-to-1 where, now that she’s gone, it reopens. But I think it’s an opening to allow the dialogue to start up again. I think we were nowhere so long as she was there. You’re not going to vote for policy and then think that she’s going to implement it. So, I think now that she’s gone, I think this provides an opportunity for Democrats and Republicans to get to the table to figure out if there are policies we can agree on and get the department reopened.”

He added that while it’s up to Senate Democrats, “what I would say is, we should not abandon our principles or our policies. We should go and we should negotiate and we should argue for them. But I think this provides a fresh opening now to get to the table and reopen this for all the employees at DHS that [are] now not getting a paycheck because of Kristi Noem, they’re suffering because of her, and they’re out there doing their jobs. So, let’s take this opportunity, let’s try to get a deal, try to reopen DHS, but also try to protect Americans from the stuff that Kristi Noem was doing in Minnesota.”

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