When a political party insists it wants a deal but rejects every olive branch offered, it's worth asking whether they ever wanted a deal at all. The partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security has now lasted nearly three weeks. In that time, Democrats have continued to prove that they have no interest in negotiating in good faith. Was there ever anything Republicans could do to satisfy them?
The answer, apparently, is no.
President Donald Trump fired Kristi Noem on Thursday and moved to nominate Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma as her replacement. Originally, it was said she was fired over her testimony claiming Trump had approved a $220 million ad campaign, then we heard it’s because of how she handled questions about an alleged affair with Corey Lewandowski. In the end, you could argue the White House was just looking for an excuse to make her a scapegoat and perhaps get Democrats to finally stop blocking funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
In the end, it doesn’t matter. Democrats wanted her gone, but now that she is, it’s not enough. Why? Because nothing is ever enough for them. They may be in the minority, but they still think that they are running the show. Barack Obama once infamously told Republicans that “Elections have consequences,” and that he had won the election and was going to govern as he felt he was elected to govern. It’s a mantra that Democrats certainly loved hearing from him at the time, but clearly don’t respect when they’re not the party in power.
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So, when the news dropped that Noem was fired, Democrats didn’t skip a beat. Chuck Schumer insisted that "the rot" at ICE runs deep and that no single personnel change could fix it. "The problems at ICE transcend any one individual," he told reporters. "You need to straighten out the whole agency."
Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries gave a masterclass in moving the goalposts, saying Noem's departure was "welcome" before immediately pivoting to demand "bold, dramatic, transformational, and meaningful" policy changes.
Let’s not forget, Joe Biden never fired anyone, despite having far more reasons to. Alejandro Mayorkas, Lloyd Austin, Merrick Garland, and Pete Buttigieg were all so horrifically incompetent and corrupt, yet each served the entirety of Biden’s administration.
Translation: they never actually cared about axing Kristi Noem. So her firing has essentially become a power trip for the left. Moan and groan enough, and Trump will cave. I’m not saying that’s what actually happened, but if you’re a Democrat running for reelection in November, you’re probably using Noem’s firing as the subject of some fundraising emails right about now.
As we’ve previously reported, Democrats are holding DHS funding over requiring ICE agents to obtain judge-signed warrants before certain detentions, banning agents from wearing masks, forcing them to display identification, and restricting where they can operate. Republicans have rightly called the warrant requirement a nonstarter — and for good reason.
Handing federal courts veto power over immigration enforcement operations in real time would effectively neuter ICE as a functional agency. Firing Noem doesn’t exactly accomplish what Democrats wanted, believe me. Even a short extension of DHS funding in the wake of the news would have demonstrated they are legitimately trying to negotiate instead of just holding funding hostage because they have to pander to their activist base, which demands resisting Trump 100% of the time.
This is not good-faith negotiating. This is a hostage situation with an ever-expanding list of demands. Democrats aren't demanding reforms because they believe ICE is broken. They're demanding reforms because they believe Trump shouldn't be allowed to enforce immigration law at all.
