Washington’s Most Dangerous Game Right Now

The Department of Homeland Security has now been shut down for thirty days, something every American should be on the phone with their representative about. Let me be clear about something up front; I am not a defender of the DHS. In fact, I believe Congress should eventually pass legislation dismantling it and returning homeland security authorities to the pre 9/11 structure that existed before the panic driven bureaucracy of the early 2000s.

The DHS was a knee jerk response to a national tragedy, and like many federal bureaucracies created in moments of fear, it grew into something far larger and less accountable than originally intended. Dismantling the agency is a serious structural reform that requires planning, legislation, and a clearly defined transition of authority. That conversation should absolutely happen but now is not the time.

While we embark on this conflict in Iran, our nation is still dealing with the consequences of the Biden Administration’s reckless border policy. Among the millions of illegal immigrants were tens of thousands of Iranian nationals, not to mention other Muslim nations hostile to the U.S., many of whom crossed the border without any vetting. No one in Washington can say with certainty who all entered this country during that period or where they are today. But against that backdrop, in a time of war, Congress allowed the DHS to remain unfunded for a full month. This is both reckless and stupid.

The obvious hypocrisy is how the same political figures who had no problem funding the DHS while it was being used by the Biden administration to carry out executive malpractice at the southern border now suddenly believe the agency should be defunded. For years DHS funding continued uninterrupted while illegal crossings reached historic levels. Now that illegal crossings have collapsed under the Trump administration and enforcement has finally returned to the border, Democrats have chosen this moment to create a standoff.

Of course, that is partisan politics as usual but doing it during a time of war crosses into something far more dangerous. And this is not theoretical. We have already seen what happens when foreign conflicts spill into domestic security threats. Anyone who lived through the years following September 11 understands that extremist groups look for moments of vulnerability. And this is a totally self-imposed and completely unnecessary moment of vulnerability.

I am not writing this as some polished political talking point. It is nearly one in the morning as I write these words. I have meetings beginning at eight in the morning, yet I cannot sleep thinking about how casually our elected officials treat the safety of the American people. I genuinely lose sleep over this. What is specifically keeping me up is that if a domestic attack were to occur, the same politicians responsible for this dysfunction would immediately shift into campaign mode. They would stand in front of cameras and talk about unity, resolve, and protecting the American people.

And that is exactly why I am writing this now, because whether an attack happens or not is not the point. The point is that our elected officials have already created the conditions that make one more possible. They have left the door open while arguing over politics in Washington, and that is unacceptable.

If Congress wants to dismantle the DHS, I will happily support that debate. But it must be done responsibly, with legislation that clearly defines what replaces it and how the security of the American people will be maintained during the transition. Shutting it down during a war, with no plan for the future and no serious discussion about what securing the homeland should look like going forward, is not reform. It is negligence. And negligence in matters of national security is something the American people should never tolerate.

Why do we wait for tragedy to strike before we get motivated? It is time to get proactive before something happens we all regret. Call your congressman or woman. Call your senator. If something within our borders has to explode, let it be their phones. Tell them to stop playing with our safety and with our lives. Tell them to fund the DHS now or never receive a single vote again. And if they are serious about ending the DHS, come up with a plan on how to do it without jeopardizing the safety and security of our homeland.