Dem Rep. Walkinshaw: We Didn’t Start DHS Shutdown, We Just Said GOP Had to ‘Come Along With Us’

On Thursday’s edition of NBC’s “Meet the Press NOW,” Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA) argued that Democrats didn’t want the DHS shutdown or start it, “We started this conversation months ago, saying, very simply, if you want our votes for an appropriations bill to give more money to ICE and CBP on top of the $140 billion they have, then you’ve got to come along with us and support the commonsense reforms that the American people want to end the brutality.”

Host Kristen Welker asked, “What would you argue Democrats have gained from this shutdown, was it worth it, Congressman?”

Walkinshaw answered, “Well, look, Democrats didn’t start this shutdown. We didn’t want the shutdown. We started this conversation months ago, saying, very simply, if you want our votes for an appropriations bill to give more money to ICE and CBP on top of the $140 billion they have, then you’ve got to come along with us and support the commonsense reforms that the American people want to end the brutality. We weren’t able to get any progress on that because of Stephen Miller. So, we then compromised and said, alright, look, let’s separate out ICE and CBP from the rest of DHS, fund FEMA, fund our cyber agencies, fund civilians at the Coast Guard, all the people truly protecting the United States of America. That deal was on the table months ago. And the Republicans rejected it until today.”

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