Washington – Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas warned Friday that his agency could face “dire” consequences if Congress fails to act. Pass legislation funding federal agencies And avoiding a government shutdown in the next few hours.
In an interview with “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan”, Mayorkas said that several components of the Department of Homeland Security, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), FEMA, and the Border Patrol, would be affected by the funding reduction.
The Homeland Security chief said failure by lawmakers to pass a stopgap spending bill before Saturday would also mean staff at the office dealing with combating weapons of mass destruction would be redirected to other parts of his department.
“The implications and consequences are grave, especially when it comes to homeland security,” Mayorkas said.
He urged Congress to approve legislation that would keep government agencies running past midnight, when a short-term extension enacted in September expires.
House Speaker Mike Johnson Unveiled earlier this week A legislative package was negotiated with Democrats that would extend government funding through March 14, provide more than $100 billion in disaster aid for states affected by extreme weather events, and other provisions. Will be given a salary increase.
But the proposal faced opposition from some conservative Republicans, who disagreed with the size and scope of the 1,550-page deal. Importantly, it was criticized by newly elected President Donald Trump's ally billionaire Elon Musk and also by the incoming President.
Trump and Musk The package was destroyed by a torpedo.Musk took to his owned social media platform X to criticize its provisions. Negotiations on the funding deal worsened when the newly elected President called out Republicans for this find loan limit – Which in their plan is scheduled to be reinstated on January 1.
Johnson unveiled a second measure on Thursday that funded the government for three months, suspended the country's borrowing limit until January 2027 and provided $110 billion in disaster relief. More tailored legislation, which Trump supported, included health care provisions, a one-year renewal of the Farm Bill, and funding for the reconstruction of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, which collapsed in march,
But that package failed to pass the House with the necessary support after a majority of Democrats and more than three dozen Republicans opposed it.
That defeat sent Johnson and GOP leaders back to the drawing board, with a shutdown looking increasingly likely with each passing hour. Sources familiar with the matter told CBS News that Republicans are now discussing voting individually on three provisions of the package: a clean extension of government funding; billions of dollars in disaster aid; And assistance to farmers.
Mayorkas told “Face the Nation” that a shutdown just before the holidays — when millions of Americans are traveling — would mean TSA employees at airports across the country would be forced to work without pay. However, they are likely to receive outstanding payments once the shutdown ends, as has happened before past funding defaults,
“We have thousands of TSA employees who will be working incredibly high volumes of passenger traffic at our airports across the country, and they will be doing so without pay to keep the American public safe,” he said.
The Homeland Security secretary also said those affected would include US Border Patrol agents deployed to the US-Mexico border.
“There are people in government service who are devoting their talents and their energies to the well-being of the American people, who depend on their paychecks to make ends meet, and after all, it is the holiday season, but our men And the women will be escorted to the United States border without any pay if they do not receive the money,” Mayorkas said.
The $110 billion in disaster aid that will likely be included in the spending agreement also includes money for FEMA, which is responding to hurricanes that hit the Southeast this fall.
Mayorkas said inaction from Congress would impact states affected by the storm, including North Carolina and Florida.
“What FEMA will need to do, another significant impact of the failure to fund the federal government, is that they will now need to delay – they will pause some contracts, some projects that are really vulnerable to extreme weather events. “We're repairing devastated communities, from tornadoes, from hurricanes, from fires, and that will delay rebuilding communities and delay the ability to really help people who have suffered so much,” he said.
Mayorkas said a shutdown over the holidays would force the Department of Homeland Security to “make difficult decisions now to delay projects.”
Lawmakers representing states devastated by the storm have pushed for disaster relief to be included in any legislative package funding the government.