Sen. Van Hollen Defends DHS Funding Stance in Shutdown

Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland defended his party's stance on funding the Department of Homeland Security during a tense exchange with ABC News host Jonathan Karl on Sunday, as a partial government shutdown entered its 44th day, disrupting airport security and emergency response operations nationwide.

The shutdown stems from a partisan impasse over DHS funding. Democrats have blocked comprehensive appropriations bills to press for reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, following the fatal shootings of U.S. citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis in January. Lawmakers from both parties agree that ICE remains funded at $75 billion through a prior budget measure, allowing its operations to continue uninterrupted. However, Democrats oppose allocating an additional $10 billion to the agency without changes to address what Van Hollen described as "lawless operations," including accountability for the Minneapolis incident.

In the interview on ABC's This Week, Karl questioned the effectiveness of the Democratic strategy, noting the prolonged shutdown's impact on other DHS components. "What did Democrats get out of this? This DHS...