During an interview with Bloomberg on Wednesday, Senate Homeland Security Committee Chairman Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) responded to a question on the DHS shutdown creating a vulnerability to domestic terrorism by saying that he’s not sure “how much DHS actually does.” And “I would rather the money probably be spent specifically on detailed defenses against terrorism, as opposed to a big, bloated bureaucracy, which is what the Department of Homeland Security has become.”
Host Joe Mathieu asked, “Some have worried that the fact that DHS — the department, not your committee — is closed right now, is making us less safe. Is the ability for DHS to combat domestic terror threats compromised by this closure?”
Paul answered, “I don’t know how much DHS actually does. I’m one of those people who believes, of course, the FBI has an important task in trying to look for people who are in the country that might harm us. There are aspects of crossing of borders that make a difference, but I’m one of those who, after 9/11, thought, gosh, we’re just going to create these enormous bureaucracies that cost a lot of money but don’t necessarily make us safer. So, I would rather the money probably be spent specifically on detailed defenses against terrorism, as opposed to a big, bloated bureaucracy, which is what the Department of Homeland Security has become.”
He added that not paying workers as a result of the DHS shutdown is a bad idea, and there should be reforms to ensure workers are paid during shutdowns.
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