Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah, blasted the Senate for passing a funding bill meant to move Congress closer to ending the partial government shutdown that has left the Department of Homeland Security unfunded for more than 40 days, but ultimately failed to do so.
Though approved after weeks of gridlock, the measure excluded funding for key immigration agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and parts of Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Despite the failure, the Senate declared their work finished and entered a two-week recess, only for House Republicans to revolt and block the bill’s path forward, prolonging the shutdown.
🚨 JUST IN: Sen. Mike Lee EVISCERATES Republican and Democrat senators who "just want to go home"
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 28, 2026
"If you don't want to fight fires, don't become a FIREFIGHTER!"
"If you don't want to take votes at difficult hours and sometimes have to work longer than you want to. Maybe you… pic.twitter.com/yI1A2bHrW0
"We have a job to do," Sen. Lee said. "You've got 260,000 employees working in a department that's very important to our national security to say nothing of the president's central agenda. And when you've got the Senate, which just took a recess a few weeks ago, right at the beginning of the shutdown, contrary to my strong advice, we took a recess then. And I warned my colleagues then, if we do this, we will lose leverage that we will not get back and it will get even harder.
"So this has cascaded," he added. "So look, I understand why people want to go home. D.C. is not the most pleasant place all the time, but that is our job. If you don't want to fight fires, don't become a firefighter. If you don't want to take ruling votes at difficult hours and sometimes have to work longer than you want to, maybe you shouldn't become a United States Senator."
This comes as DHS has remained unfunded despite being nearly a month into war with the leading global state sponsor of terror.
While Republican leadership in the Senate hailed the bill as a victory, so did Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
"This is exactly what we wanted," Sen. Schumer said. "This is what we asked for, and I'm very proud of my caucus. My caucus held the line."
🚨 JUST IN: Senate Leader John Thune ripped for leaving DC "with his private escort" through the airport for recess without the SAVE America Act being passed
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 27, 2026
REP. RANDY FINE: "Looks like Leader John Thune is on his way out of town with his private escort, as the SAVE America Act… pic.twitter.com/8PfCNjW1pv