Rep. Byron Donalds criticized the U.S. Senate over its handling of Department of Homeland Security funding, arguing that lawmakers failed to support critical programs within Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including efforts targeting child sex trafficking.

Donalds said frustration is growing among House Republicans over the Senate’s approach, particularly regarding what he described as omissions in the funding package.

“Well, I think right now there's a lot of members, obviously house bucklers members, but a lot of other Republican members who are furious about this,” Donalds said.

He pointed to a specific concern involving ICE operations.

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“Part of what was not funded was the portion of ice that does child sex trafficking investigations,” Donalds said.

He added, “So the United States Senate thought it was okay to not fund a part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement that investigates child sex trafficking. That's nuts.”

Donalds said he and several colleagues oppose the current package and are calling for revisions. “So I'm a no,” he said.

“A lot of my colleagues are no that needs to be amended back into the package and sent back to the Senate.”

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He emphasized that the Senate should return to Washington to address the issue, regardless of prior commitments.

“I don't care that they have a two week vacation if they're supposed to go on,” Donalds said.

He continued, “I don't care that they've had codes scheduled. I don't care if they got fundraisers scheduled. They got to do their job.”

Donalds argued that the legislation should be revised and resubmitted for consideration.

“I think we should amend it, send it back over there for them to take up and deal with,” he said.

He also accused Senate Democrats of delaying action for political reasons.

“If the Democrats decide that they want to continue to leave the Department of Homeland Security unfunded because they're trying to play political games and they're not going to fund the part of ice that investigates child sex trafficking, come on, like, what are we even doing at this point?” Donalds said.

According to Donalds, the situation reflects broader dysfunction in Washington.

“This this is why people are so frustrated,” he said.

He added that public sentiment is evident among visitors to the nation’s capital.

“Look, we got a lot of people here visiting the nation's capital, and, you know, sometimes they come through here and I hear the tourists, you know, mumble like, Man, this place is nuts.”

Donalds attributed the situation to Senate leadership. “It's true, because you have weak leadership in the Senate,” he said.

“They don't do their job. They don't do it effectively. They don't even use common sense. They play political games.”

He also referenced remarks from Senate leadership regarding the outcome of negotiations.

“Chuck Schumer put out a statement about an hour ago saying we got everything we wanted,” Donalds said.

He added, “So he wants, he doesn't want investigations into child sex trafficking, because that's what he supported.”

Donalds further argued that the current approach undermines border enforcement.

“The border is not. We're not funding border agents again,” he said.

“We're going back to the Biden era of border security.”

He concluded by reiterating his opposition to the package and calling for immediate action.

“So I'm a known that package. We need to amend it, send it back,” Donalds said.

He added that senators should return to Washington if necessary. “If the senators got to get back on their private jets to come back to DC, so be it.”

Donalds also highlighted differences in travel experiences between lawmakers and the general public.

“Because, by the way, America, most senators don't go through TSA,” he said.

“They get on a PJ wanna make sure people know that.”

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