Jake Tapper just put Senator Cory Booker on DEFENSE, pressing him to explain why Democrats are REFUSING to fund the United States Department of Homeland Security while security concerns remain high.
— Overton (@overton_news) March 15, 2026
Tapper pinned the standoff directly on Senate Democrats.
TAPPER: “So in terms… pic.twitter.com/k7MtCw16fR
of the security of our home, there have been a number of attacks — ISIS inspired bombing attempt in New York City outside Mamdani’s house. A shooting target at an ROTC class at Old Dominion and on and on and on.”
“Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security is still shut down because Senate Democrats are blocking the funding bill over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.”
“Isn’t it time for Democrats to reopen and refund DHS?”
TAPPER: “Yeah, they want the whole agency funded.”
"Cory Booker (pu)t on DEFENSE" as to "why Democrats are REFUSING to fund the United States Department of Homeland Security while security concerns remain high" is, well, highly misleading. And that goes beyond the reality that security concerns are high now because of the war Donald Trump launched in violation of the 1973 War Powers Resolution (and international law, for what that's worth), without consulting our allies in the Gulf or Europe and apparently without considering the ramifactions of is reckless action.
Booker's response after "they want the whole agency funded" was
They want the whole agency.
ICE is still out there doing reckless things in communities. ICE is still arresting and detaining American citizens. ICE is still having unmasked people jump out of unmarked cars abducting people from the streets, barreling into homes. Even Americans, even veterans are being swept up in ICE's chaos.
I will not approve another dollar for ICE, given all that they're doing, but we should be funding those TSA agents that keep us safe, CISA, Coast Guard. And for Republicans to refuse to do it is unacceptable.
Out of time, Tapper then concluded the interview.
That was a good response from Booker; as good or better than most Democrats would give. And I'm not saying that because he's one of the two best Senators from my state. However, there was an even better response New Jersey's senior senator could have made.
Objection- assumes facts not in evidence. Tapper's question "isn't it time for Democrats to reopen and fund DHS?" was less accusatory, implying that it is the fault of Democrats that the federal government isn't open and their responsibility to end the impass they've allegedly created.
In response to Tapper, the question should be reversed. He should be asked "isn't it time for Republicans to reopen and fund DHS?" That rhetorical question probably would be mean with silence. Once Tapper regains his footing, the priority should be to point out that Republicans control the House of Representatives, the Senate, and the presidency. If the government isn't working, it's on the Republicans. It's their government!
Make sure that viewers understand that it is Republicans who are creating the long lines at the airport. Moreover, Booker- or any Democrat- earns extra credit if he or she turns the question against Jake Tapper himself. Why are you even asking that question, Jake?
Republicans have understood for a long time that Americans do not like the media, ever since a Nixon Administration speechwriter (either Pat Buchanan or William Safire) had Vice President Spiro Agnew refer to the "nattering nabobs of negativism" who have "their own 4-H club- the hopeless, hysterical hypchondriacs of history." (There is disagreement over whether Agnew initially was referring to the media or to Democratic politicians but it was taken up by conservative critics of the press as a blueprint.)
Although they no longer appreciate awesome alliteration, Americans like and respect the media even less than they did at that time. Democrats, seemingly unaware of the relationship between the voters and professional journalists, seem to believe that the former have some regard for the latter. Moreover, they act as if they believe the GOP myth that the media is partial to Democrats.
They must not continue to be fooled. The very promient Jake Tapper, with Alex Thompson, wrote "Original Sin: President Biden's Decline, Its Cover Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again." Evidently, they have not gotten around to writing a similar book about incumbent president Donald Trump, whose physical and mental decline is threatening not only our constitutional republic, but world stability.
Washington Democrats also mistake political epedience for dmocratic tradition.. Much tradition is good; much needs to be reversed. The obvious answer to Jake Tapper's plea that Republicans "want the whole agency funded" is that not all of it should be. The eerily-named Department of Homeland Security was created in the wake of the 9/11/01 terrorist atttacks, and should not have been. It has become a monstrosity, a ridiculous behemoth, lumping together Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection, Transportation Security Administration, FEMA, and twelve other operational and support components.
Enough- actually, much too much. It's time to split off ICE, either with or without Customs and Border Protection, and not crush innocent airport travelers because congressional Republicans are unable or unwilling to rein in President Trump's anti-immigrant crusade. And it's time for Democrats to challenge media members who treat those Republicans with kid gloves and know they'll never get any pushback from the other side.
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