Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) called on March 20 for the U.S. Senate to pass funding for the Department of Homeland Security and the SAVE America Act through reconciliation, speaking from the Senate floor.
The issue is significant as it addresses ongoing disagreements over Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) funding and broader homeland security appropriations. Kennedy said that using reconciliation would allow passage with a simple majority, bypassing the need for 60 votes.
“It is a fact that the Karen wing of the Democratic Party is in ascendency, and it is firmly in control. And any Democrat, we all know this, that agrees to any kind of compromise with respect to ICE is going to be punished the rest of their natural lives. They can’t do it, and they’re not going to,” Kennedy said during his remarks.
He further criticized prolonged negotiations: “Now, we can keep having meetings and discussing it. We’ve been doing it for weeks. Most of these meetings could easily be accomplished with an email. And I’ve been part of the discussions in our conference. I’m convinced that listening to the same thing over and over and over again is lowering my IQ when we know that nothing is going to resolve this because my Democratic friends politically can’t agree to a compromise about ICE.”
Kennedy proposed accepting Democratic offers to fund agencies such as TSA, FEMA, Coast Guard, and CISA before moving forward with a Republican-led reconciliation bill focused on ICE funding. He said, “So, here’s what I think we ought to do: I think that we should accept the Democrats’ offer to open up TSA and to open up FEMA and to open up the Coast Guard and to open up and fund CISA, and let’s get that done. Let’s shorten these [TSA] lines, and then the day after we do that, Republicans need to file a reconciliation bill—the same way we passed the One Big Beautiful Bill—and on our own, we need to come up with a budget for ICE. It’s the only way to solve this problem.”
He also advocated including the SAVE Act in such legislation: “I would include the SAVE Act as part of that reconciliation bill, as well. We wouldn’t need 60 votes. We wouldn’t need 55 votes. We’d only need 51 votes. We passed the One Big Beautiful Bill with 50 votes and the vice president breaking the tie… I would go get a really smart lawyer and ask them to help us craft a SAVE Act that can survive a Byrd bath. I would do those two things in reconciliation or at least open up ICE through reconciliation.”
Kennedy has an extensive background in lawmaking and education; he earned degrees including magna cum laude honors from Vanderbilt University in political science, philosophy, economics; holds a law degree from University of Virginia; completed first class honors at Oxford University; served as executive editor of Virginia Law Review; was president of his senior class at Vanderbilt; authored books on Constitutional law; serves as adjunct professor; contributes as substitute teacher; holds top Republican positions on subcommittees for energy/water development/economic policy; serves on committees for appropriations, banking, budget, judiciary—all according to his official website.
The proposal signals continued debate over how Congress will address key homeland security issues amid partisan divides.
