‘That’s Just a Fact!’ ABC’s Jonathan Karl Tussles With Senate Democrat On DHS Shutdown

ABC’s Jonathan Karl battled a Senate Democrat, Sunday, on the party’s tactics in the now 44-day long partial government shutdown impacting the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

In a lively back-and-forth on ABC’s This Week, Karl pressed Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) about what Democrats have actually gained in their six-week standoff with Republicans.

“You put out a statement saying that Republicans had ‘finally relented,'” Karl said — referring to Van Hollen’s statement Friday after the Senate deal to fund DHS, which was later struck down by the House. “What did Democrats get out of this, even if that passed? What did you get out this? This DHS shutdown’s going on for well over a month. What have you gotten for it?”

“Well, the issue here, Jon, is we let people know, number one, that we want to fully fund TSA,” Van Hollen said. :”We could get rid of these lines at the airports immediately. But we also made clear that we’re going to demand reforms of a lawless ICE operation. After all, TSH agents killed two American citizens in Minneapolis, and the president his team called the victims domestic terrorists.”

Karl pressed the senator.

“I guess what’s confusing here is you have fought and blocked the funding for the Department of Homeland Security because you object — as you just outlined — to what ICE has been doing and you wanted to force changes,” Karl said. “And yet, the only thing that has been assured throughout all of this is that ICE already has the money. Because as you said, $75 billion passed in the budget bill last year. So you’re holding up the entirety of the Department of Homeland Security because you object to ICE and you want changes to ICE, but through it all, ICE continues to have the money.”

“We’re not holding up all of the money for all the Department of Homeland Security,” Van Hollen replied. “That’s just a false statement. We have said repeatedly, repeatedly, we should fund TSA. We should fund FEMA. We should fund the Coast Guard. We are not prepared to give ICE another $10 billion on top of the monies they already have and are using in many of these lawless operations. We’re not going to give them another $10 billion.”

“In fighting over the additional $10 billion, you are holding up the rest of the Department of Homeland Security,” Karl interjected.

“We’re not holding it up!” Van Hollen shot back. “No Jon, we’re not holding it up!”

“You’re only holding up unless it doesn’t include money for ICE,” Karl responded. “That’s just a fact!”

“Unless it doesn’t include money for ICE, a very reformed ICE, that’s right,” Van Hollen said. “But why not fund TSA now? That’s what we’ve said. That’s what the House blocked.”

“That’s a very good question,” Karl said — noting that he’d posed that question to his prior guest, Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA).

Watch above, via ABC.

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