Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) called on March 20 for the U.S. Senate to consider reopening the Department of Homeland Security and passing the SAVE America Act using the reconciliation process. Kennedy made his remarks during a speech on the Senate floor, suggesting that this approach would allow passage with a simple majority rather than the usual 60 votes.
The issue is significant as it addresses ongoing disagreements in Congress over funding for agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and other components of homeland security. Kennedy said that partisan divisions have stalled progress, particularly regarding compromise on ICE funding.
“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 speech.
He continued by criticizing 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 like TSA, FEMA, Coast Guard, and CISA immediately while pursuing separate funding for ICE through reconciliation: “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 addressed including broader immigration 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 law and public service; he earned degrees including magna cum laude honors from Vanderbilt University in political science, philosophy, economics; holds a law degree from University of Virginia; received first class honors from 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; 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.
As debate continues over how best to address homeland security funding issues in Congress, Kennedy’s proposal highlights ongoing divisions but also outlines one possible path forward using existing legislative procedures.
