US House minority leader accuses Republicans of prolonging partial shutdown

US House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries criticized President Donald Trump and House Republicans on Monday over the ongoing shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), urging immediate action on a bipartisan Senate-approved funding bill.

Speaking to reporters, Jeffries said the DHS has been shut down for more than 70 days, blaming the standoff on Republican efforts to push what he described as an “extreme immigration agenda” centered on enforcement by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

“Donald Trump and House Republicans have now shut down the Department of Homeland Security…to continue to drive their extreme immigration agenda and violent mass deportation machine led by ICE down the throats of the American people,” he said.

Jeffries pointed to a funding bill passed unanimously by the Senate—with support from both Democrats and Republicans—that he said has stalled in the House of Representatives.

“Several weeks ago, a bill was sent over…supported by every single Republican and every single Democrat in the Senate,” he said. “It’s a bipartisan bill that has been languishing in the House.”

According to Jeffries, the legislation would fully fund multiple DHS components, including the Secret Service, the Transportation Security Administration, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Coast Guard, and cybersecurity personnel tasked with protecting national infrastructure.

He questioned why House Speaker Mike Johnson has not brought the bill to the floor for a vote, accusing Republicans of prolonging the crisis for political reasons.

House Republicans continue to play "partisan political games," he said.

He argued that the Senate bill would fund the DHS “in its entirety,” except for expanded immigration enforcement efforts tied to ICE, which Democrats oppose.

Since February, the DHS has been in a partial shutdown due to a dispute over the controversial ICE agency, with most Democrats refusing to fund it without significant reforms.

Senate-passed bill has 'some problematic language': Johnson

Separately, US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats are pushing for common-sense reforms for ICE and other agencies.

"Democrats and Republicans here in the Senate unanimously passed a bill that would fund all of the agencies within DHS, except for ICE and border patrol, which are already funded," Schumer said on the Senate floor.

Democrats unanimously supported funding the vast majority of the DHS, including the Secret Service, not once but twice, he reminded the lawmakers.

"House Republicans could and should fund the Secret Service today. But instead, they're holding it up," he said.

Earlier, Johnson told reporters that the Senate-passed bill has "some problematic language, because it was haphazardly drafted."

He argued that the bill would “orphan” two of the primary agencies of the DHS.

"We have a modified version that I think is going to be much better for both chambers," he said.

On Monday, Trump called on House Republicans to back the budget blueprint and get a final bill to his desk by June 1.