On Monday, during an appearance on Fox News Channel’s America Reports, Sen. Roger Marshall criticized Democrats and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries for refusing to approve funding for the Department of Homeland Security, contributing to the ongoing partial government shutdown.
The Kansas Republican senator compared Democratic tactics to past efforts to defund law enforcement, arguing that similar strategies hurt Democrats during the 2024 election cycle.
Fox News host John Roberts asked Marshall whether he was optimistic the shutdown would end soon.
“Senator, are you optimistic that this government shutdown will end tomorrow?” Roberts asked.
Marshall responded by placing the blame squarely on Democrats.
“The frustration here is, once again, the Republicans are the party of law and order,” Marshall said. “The Democrats are the party of defund the police. This is the next chapter in the Democrats refusing to fund DHS and refusing to fund law enforcement right now.”
He said the funding dispute was being fueled in part by political retaliation.
“I think that’s the real issue, along with the fact that Congressman Jeffries was kind of left out of the conversation,” Marshall said. “So he’s retaliating now by taking all of his votes out of it.”
Marshall also addressed the challenges facing House leadership as negotiations continue.
“Again, the speaker has an impossible task — he only has a one-person margin,” he said. “But I have confidence that he’ll be able to get the job done.”
The comments come as lawmakers remain deadlocked over spending priorities, with both parties trading blame for the shutdown and its impact on federal agencies and public services.
