CBS News host Margaret Brennan pressed Democratic Colorado Rep. Jason Crow on Sunday about his party’s continued support for the partial government shutdown despite its negative impact on his constituents.
During Crow’s appearance on “Face the Nation,” Brennan asked him how his fellow Democrats “continue to defend” the ongoing shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its agencies, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), telling Crow the impasse is specifically “hurting your community.” In response, the lawmaker immediately blamed Republicans for the shutdown — which almost all Senate Democrats voted to prolong Friday — a point which Brennan appeared to push back on.
“Tell me though, as a Democrat, because Congress is scheduled to go on vacation soon. A lot of TSA agents aren’t receiving paychecks because of this Democratic-led funding shutdown because of a demand to change immigration policies — something the White House has not made any concessions on that I know of to date. This is in the Senate,” Brennan told Crow. “But as a Democrat— I mean, look at Denver Airport, near your district. They’re asking people to donate gift cards for TSA agents to make ends meet. The airport says, you know, this is a huge generator in terms of what the airport does for the region.”
“This is hurting your community. How do you continue to defend the shutdown?” the CBS News host pressed the lawmaker.
“I’m going to be really clear that this is a Republican shutdown. Full stop,” Crow said in response.
“Republicans said that— ,” Brennan started to reply as the Democrat began to speak over her.
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“Just yesterday, the U.S. Senate held a vote, and Senate Democrats put up an authorization to fund everything except for ICE [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] and CBP [Customs and Border Protection],” Crow said before beginning to list several agencies under the DHS. “That’s Coast Guard, that’s TSA, that’s Cybersecurity [and Infrastructure Security Agency]. Every single Senate Republican voted against it.”
The congressman then referred to a bill backed by his party in the House from Democratic Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries which would effectively fund all of DHS except for its two main immigration enforcement agencies.
“Republicans are stopping it. They’re not even allowing a vote on that bill,” Crow said, not mentioning that Senate Democrats, save Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, continue to vote against Republican attempts to reopen DHS in its entirety. “So we are ready to go.”
Brennan then tried to shift the conversation back to her question regarding how Democrats are responding to the continued shutdown hurting TSA agents in their communities.
“But in the meantime, these people are left stuck. We’re about to be in spring break, heavy traffic season,” she pointed out.
“That’s the Republicans: they are in control of every element of government. They’re in control of what we vote for and don’t vote for. We are saying, ‘Let’s open it back up,’” Crow replied. “Let’s fund Coast Guard, let’s fund FEMA, let’s fund TSA, let’s fund cyber security, which, by the way, we need because we’ve just started a war with Iran which has a huge cyber capability.”
“We want to fund it. We’re ready to fund it. We will take the vote tomorrow. They’re stopping that vote. They own this shutdown,” the congressman concluded, before Brennan announced the end of the segment.
Crow, a former U.S. Army officer, made headlines in November 2025 when he appeared in a heavily scrutinized video alongside five of his fellow congressional Democrats urging those in military service and spy agencies to defy the Trump administration’s so-called “illegal orders.” Secretary of War Pete Hegseth later dubbed Crow and his five colleagues the “Seditious Six,” a moniker which quickly became popular among Republicans.
The Colorado Democrat also floated the possibility of forcing the government into a shutdown to rein in ICE during a mid-January interview with CNN. The media appearance took place just over a week after an ICE agent fatally shot Renee Good in Minneapolis.
During an appearance on CNN earlier Sunday, Trump administration border czar Tom Homan said the issue underpinning the partial shutdown is not one of immigration policy but how policies are executed.
“We have the same policies in place we had during [former President Barack] Obama and [former President Joe] Biden and [former President Bill] Clinton and [former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush],” Homan told CNN’s Dana Bash when asked about the Trump administration’s negotiations with Senate Democrats. “So, the policy really hasn’t changed. It’s the execution of those policies that we’re talking about.”
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