ABC Host Stuns Viewers by Actually Challenging Democrat on Defunding Homeland Security [WATCH]

Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., faced pointed questions from ABC News host Jon Karl during a Sunday interview as the partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security entered its 44th day.

The shutdown has centered on a dispute over funding for the Department of Homeland Security, with Democrats pressing for changes to Immigration and Customs Enforcement policies as part of any agreement to fund the agency.

The standoff has left key DHS operations without full funding while lawmakers continue to debate spending measures.

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Karl pressed Van Hollen on what Democrats had achieved during the extended shutdown, noting that Congress was in recess and that DHS remained unfunded despite ongoing negotiations.

“So when the Senate passed that bill and there was that brief moment, it looked like, you know, dawn had broken you put out a statement saying that Republicans had, quote, finally relented,” Karl said.

“What did Democrats get out of this? Even if that passed, what did you get out of this this DHS shutdown‘s going on for well over a month? What have you gotten for it?”

Van Hollen responded by outlining Democratic priorities, including full funding for the Transportation Security Administration, which he said would address issues such as long lines at airports.

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At the same time, he criticized ICE operations and said Democrats were seeking reforms as part of the broader funding effort.

Karl continued to challenge the position, focusing on the role ICE funding has played in the impasse.

“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 during the interview.

“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.”

Van Hollen pushed back on that characterization, accusing Karl of misrepresenting the Democratic position.

“We have said repeatedly, 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 money they already have and are using in many of these lawless operations,” Van Hollen said.

Karl then interjected to clarify his point about the broader consequences of the dispute.

“And fighting over that additional $10 billion, you are—you are holding up the rest of Department of Homeland Security,” Karl said.

Van Hollen rejected the claim directly.

“We’re not holding it up,” Van Hollen shot back.

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

The exchange highlighted the central disagreement in the shutdown, with Democrats opposing additional ICE funding and Republicans arguing that the dispute has stalled broader DHS operations.

Meanwhile, the House moved forward with a temporary funding measure late Friday.

Lawmakers passed a stopgap bill designed to fund the Department of Homeland Security for two months in an effort to break the deadlock.

However, the proposal faces uncertain prospects in the Senate, where any funding legislation must clear a 60-vote threshold.

That requirement would necessitate support from at least some Democratic senators, making passage uncertain.

House Republican leadership has argued that its approach offers a path forward to reopen DHS operations while continuing negotiations over broader funding issues.

“We’re not going to split apart two of the most important agencies in the government and leave them hanging like that,” said Mike Johnson, R-La., speaking to reporters at the U.S. Capitol on Friday night. “We just couldn’t do it.”

With no immediate resolution in place, the Department of Homeland Security remains partially unfunded as negotiations continue between lawmakers over how to address both agency operations and immigration enforcement policy.

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