Top National Security Experts Warn Dems ‘Playing Chicken With Terrorists’

Between lengthy TSA lines and increased concerns about national security threats amid the conflict with Iran, conservative experts told The Daily Wire that there are serious risks associated with the continued shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, as talks in Washington stall.

DHS has faced a lapse in funding since Feb. 14, as Democrats and Republicans are at odds on federal immigration enforcement tactics, despite Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection already being heavily funded through the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” last year. Still, other agencies under DHS like TSA, FEMA, and the Coast Guard are unfunded.

“We’re dealing with a heightened threat environment right now, and we need the federal government security capabilities to be firing on all cylinders,” Nathan Sales, former special presidential envoy for the Global Coalition to Counter ISIS, said.

“If you’re a Hezbollah operative and you want to carry out an attack in the United States, you have to cross the border, and that’s a DHS responsibility,” he noted, later adding that “this is not the time to be playing politics with national security.”

Sales specifically highlighted the risks of FEMA not having the money it needs to fully operate.

“What happens if, God forbid, there is a terrorist incident on American soil and we need an immediate federal response to that,” Sales asked. “It’s not a great time for FEMA to be sitting on the sidelines either.”

Meanwhile, Garrett Exner, an adjunct fellow at the Hudson Institute focusing on terrorism, national security, and defense, slammed the lack of funding for TSA as “insane,” saying “it’s not a good faith argument” for Democrats to use the other agencies under DHS as leverage for immigration reform.

“We have 11 million people that came here, and we don’t know who they are, and ICE is doing the legal business of moving those people out of the country, and Democrats are trying to stop that. They’re trying to slow it down,” Exner said, referencing the Biden-era border crisis.

Recent incidents like the attempted ISIS-style terrorist attack outside the New York City mayoral residence, along with the Southwest Airlines flight bomb threat over the weekend, are also sparking concerns, according to Lora Ries, the director of The Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center.

“The House passed the DHS funding bill last week, so now it’s down to the Senate, and Senate Democrats are playing chicken with terrorists in this country,” Ries said, adding that it’s a “dereliction of duty by refusing to fund securing our homeland.”

In addition, the FBI is currently investigating the Austin, Texas, bar shooting from March 1 as a possible act of terrorism, as the alleged shooter was wearing a “Property of Allah” hoodie and a pro-Iran shirt.

Outside of the security risks, those who are essential workers, like TSA agents, are now working without pay, which will likely lead to a higher number of callouts at airports nationwide.

“They’re not getting rich doing these jobs. They live paycheck to paycheck,” Ken Cuccinelli, a former top Homeland Security official during the first Trump administration, pointed out regarding TSA, as shutdowns can “dissuade people from doing those jobs.”

Cuccinelli noted potential for the shutdown to hurt “morale” within DHS, and it could also create a ripple effect as FEMA responds to disasters like the recent Potomac River sewage spill.

TSA and other essential workers, like air traffic controllers, also bore the brunt of the 43-day-long full federal government shutdown last fall, which was triggered by Democrats pushing for an extension of the Affordable Care Act’s pandemic-era subsidies, but no permanent deal on the subsidies was ultimately reached. The remainder of the federal government is fully funded through September.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem will be leaving her role at the department at the end of the month amid multiple controversies, and President Donald Trump plans to replace her with Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK). However, Noem’s ouster is not considered enough to warrant a deal with Senate Democrats.

“I’ve been asked if I would support Sen. Mullin as Noem’s replacement. The answer is a resounding NO. The rot in DHS is deep, much deeper than any individual. It’s a question of policy not personnel. The Senate should not consider any DHS Secretary nominee until DHS and ICE are reined in,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) posted to X last week.