On Monday’s edition of NBC’s “Meet the Press NOW,” Rep. James Walkinshaw (D-VA) said that he is worried that failing to pass the DHS funding bill will harm agencies unrelated to border enforcement, “But the situation that we are in right now is unsustainable.”
Host Ryan Nobles asked, “If we go back to the conversation around government funding and the possibility, even as you suggest, that the DHS budget is pulled out — the DHS spending plan, I should say, is pulled out, and everything else gets passed. That would still mean that DHS would go a period of time without funding. Right now, they oversee really important agencies, like FEMA. You’re right smack dab in the middle of this massive winter storm that grips much of the East Coast. Are you concerned that these agencies that have nothing to do with these border enforcement policies could be in trouble and could face hardship if this DHS package is not passed?”
Walkinshaw answered, “Well, you mentioned FEMA, we have to point out that, as we speak, the Trump administration is effectively dismantling FEMA. But, set that aside. Yes, I’m concerned about that. But the situation that we are in right now is unsustainable.”
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