LIVE: House Speaker, GOP Leaders Hold Media Availability

Thank you all for waiting. It's been a long, long night, a long day, but we just had a very fruitful almost two-hour conference call with all the House Republicans and we have a united group. Let me just be completely unequivocal and put this out here in the open and in the beginning here to make clear the Republicans are not going to be any part of any effort to reopen our borders or to stop immigration enforcement. We are going to deport dangerous, criminal, illegal aliens because it is a basic function of the government. The Democrats fundamentally disagree. The Senate Democrats have hoisted upon this appropriations process their radical, crazy agenda. We call it crazy because that's what it is. They want to reopen the borders and they want to stop the deportation of dangerous, criminal, illegal aliens. We have to do these basic functions of government. We have to fund them in order to do them. In the last several days, we have recent examples of dangerous criminals in this country killing innocent Americans. We had an 18-year-old college student in Chicago, a young lady, who was shot in the back by a dangerous criminal who had been released in that sanctuary city and first released at the border under Joe Biden. They opened the border wide for four years. Just yesterday, or in the last 36 hours or so, an 83-year-old man is pushed onto the subway tracks and run over by a dangerous, criminal, illegal alien. This has to stop. The Republicans are not going to be a party to this. They have taken hostage the funding processes of government so that they can impose their radical agenda on the American people when we can't have any part of it. This gambit that was done last night is a joke. I'm quite convinced that it can't be that every Senate Republican read the language of this bill. I'm going to just read you one excerpt of it because it's pretty alarming and it says everything that you need to know in section four. This is on page two of the bill. This is an actual copy of the bill, that excerpt. It says, quote, the contents printed under the headings of this bill, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Security Operations under the heading of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol and Protection shall have no force or effect for purposes of this act and amounts specified in the final bill under the subheading Border Security Operations and under the heading U.S. Customs and Border Protection and under the headings of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the Department of Homeland Security shall be zero. We're not doing that. And it is unconscionable to me that the Democrats would force some sort of negotiation at three o'clock in the morning and try to hoist this upon the American people and then get on their jets and go home for their holiday and pretend and think that we're going to go along with that. So we're going to do something different. We're going to do the responsible thing. Republicans are going to continue to govern and do the right thing morally, literally, legally and politically. We are going to take care of those who take care of us. The employees and the Department of Homeland Security have gone without funding and without paychecks for 42 days. It's the second longest shutdown in U.S. history, bested only by the longest shutdown in U.S. history that these same radical Democrats hoisted upon the government in the fall of last year. Forty-two days they've gone without pay. We've had, by some estimates, close to 500 TSA agents who have resigned from their jobs. And who could blame them? They've gone half the fiscal year without a regular paycheck. We can't ask that of anyone. And the lines around the airlines and at the airports have been wrapped around the buildings because of all this turmoil. We are very grateful to have a strong commander in chief in the White House who has taken real leadership. President Trump has already ordered by executive order that TSA agents will be paid. And that machinery is in process right now. The Office of Management and Budget is working through that to make sure that that happens. And we will reduce the lines and the waits at the airlines. We'll make sure that those who are protecting us are paid. But what we are going to present and what we're going to vote on this floor, our Rules Committee is working through this right now. We're going to put a clean, simple, continuing resolution that will go until May 22nd. It's just a number of weeks to allow for all those who sacrificially serve the country and protect other Americans, all these agencies, 10 agencies in the Department of Homeland Security, will continue at their current funding levels to make sure that they are protected. We're going to send that over to the Senate and we hope that they'll accept that. They can do it in record time just like that with the unanimous consent. They could do that as early as Monday. In the meantime, TSA will be paid. We will have done our jobs and we will protect the homeland because that is the most basic responsibility of the Congress is to protect the American people. We're not playing political games on this. We encourage some of our Democrats. Hopefully, we'll have some of our Democrats in the House who go along with this and stop the pain that's being forced upon these people. The reason that we can't accept this ridiculousness is because we're not going to risk not funding the agencies that keep the American people safe. The Department of Homeland Security is the third largest department in the federal government. It has 10 agencies beneath it. It's not just TSA. It's also FEMA, the Coast Guard, all these agencies that keep us safe. We must fund them. This is not a game. Republicans will do the responsible and honorable thing and Democrats will continue to play politics. Thank you, Mr. Speaker. You and John Boone are not on the same page. You came out and criticized Democrats. He was the engineer behind this. Why are you guys not on the same page? And are you not extending the shutdown? If you were to accept what the Senator passed, this could end tonight and the TSA lines would shrink. I wouldn't call John Boone the engineer of this. Chuck Schumer and the Democrats in the Senate have forced this upon the Senate. I have to protect the House. Let me answer the question, Chad. I have to protect the House and I have to protect the American people. That's our responsibility. Our colleagues on this side understand this is not a game. We are not playing their games. These people want open borders and they want criminal illegal aliens in the country. They do not want to enforce the law. They want to literally defund. You just read it in the bill here. They want to give zero dollars to enforcing federal immigration laws and keeping the border secure. That was the biggest issue in the election of 2024, the wide open border that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris hoisted upon the country. And 20 million, by some estimates, 20 million dangerous criminal illegal aliens included in that number came over the border. We have terrorists in our country. We have obviously murderers. They're putting it on display. And then these big blue cities that have sanctuary city policies, they're releasing these people onto the streets. They released them over the border when they came over under the Biden years. And that is the turmoil that we're facing right now, the very serious threats to the homeland and everybody. It's not just long lines at the airport. It is the danger and safety of everyone. We'll talk more after this is passed. I spoke to the president a few moments ago. He supports it. Yes, thank you. The American people are just sick and tired of every one of you, both Republicans and Democrats come to this podium and blame the other side. People have been standing in lines three, four or five hours at a time. There's TSA workers that are selling their plasma. At what point is a leader on either side going to stand up and say we have a path forward that everyone will agree to? This vote today will extend the shutdown under any circumstance. No, it won't. No, it won't. Thank you. Let me answer the question. I'm glad you brought it up. The House Republicans have now voted that today will be the fourth time to fund the homeland security. This is not party blame game. This is a record. You can hold up the record. Look at the Democrats. They're voting over and over last night. Yesterday afternoon, we gave him a chance to fund homeland security. You know how many House Democrats voted? Yes. Four of them. They want to use people as pawns. People are not pawns. These are workers who are sacrificially serving the country, many of them without pay to make that you and your families are safe and we're done with it. This is not a political blame game. This is one party doing the job and getting the government funded and another that's using people as pawns. We're not going to do that. Listen, we're going to send it over there and you can see what they do. If this is not you seed and they don't do it, the president has shown leadership. He's going to fund TSA agents. We'll get that covered. But we have the rest of the country to take care of. We're not asking them to do anything heroic. These aren't partisan games. We're not adding bells and whistles to this. It is a clean continuation of funding to make sure that the most basic responsibility of government is fulfilled and we'll see how that goes.