Senator John Kennedy is making it crystal clear: Republicans are done waiting—and they’re ready to move forward on funding the Department of Homeland Security without a single Democrat.
Speaking to Newsmax, the Louisiana Republican didn’t sugarcoat the situation, calling the current state of the Senate “mess, murk and mayhem.” And honestly, that might be the most polite way to describe it.
Kennedy revealed that after President Donald Trump rejected any compromise deal—“none, zero, zilch, nada,” as he put it—the GOP is now shifting to a backup plan that cuts Democrats out entirely.
Enter Plan B.
Instead of negotiating through the usual process, Kennedy is proposing to fund DHS through budget reconciliation, a method that only requires a simple majority vote. Translation: Republicans can get it done on their own.
And he’s not thinking small.
Kennedy says the plan would cover the entire department, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Secret Service, the Coast Guard, FEMA, and TSA. In his words, “Let’s just do the whole damn thing through reconciliation.”
Subtle? Not exactly.
This comes as DHS has been partially shut down since February 14, with Democrats holding up funding over disagreements tied to immigration enforcement. Meanwhile, key agencies are operating without new appropriations, and TSA workers are still dealing with delayed paychecks.
Kennedy acknowledged that using reconciliation could take a bit longer to get everyone paid, but made it clear that moving forward is the priority.
He also didn’t hold back in criticizing Democrats, accusing them of blocking even symbolic measures like suspending Senate pay during the funding lapse—despite previously supporting it in committee. Because apparently “shared sacrifice” has its limits.
The strategy isn’t without complications. Reconciliation is typically reserved for taxes and mandatory spending, not standard funding bills, which raises procedural questions. But Kennedy insists it can be done—and paid for—pointing to unused funds and alleged fraud as potential offsets.
If this sounds familiar, it’s because Republicans already used reconciliation to pass major legislation before, with Vice President JD Vance casting the tie-breaking vote.
The bottom line? Republicans are signaling they’re ready to act, with or without bipartisan support, to restore funding and keep critical agencies running.
And with pressure mounting, Kennedy made one thing clear: he’s not going anywhere until it’s resolved.
Because at the end of the day, as he put it, government is supposed to create order—not chaos.
And right now, restoring that order is exactly what’s on the table.
