Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin didn’t hold back Thursday morning when asked about recent criticism of ICE and Border Patrol agents. In a Fox News interview, he went straight at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, responding to the New York Democrat’s remarks with unusually blunt language.

The back-and-forth followed comments Schumer made on the Senate floor the night before. During that speech, Schumer pushed back on the idea of increasing funding for federal immigration enforcement, arguing that more resources weren’t needed for Border Patrol or Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He went further, describing the agencies as ones “that nobody respects in this country.”

Fox News reporter Bill Melugin played that clip for Mullin and asked for his reaction. Mullin said the comments struck a nerve.

“Well, it makes my ears red,” he said, adding that it takes quite a bit to get him worked up. Then he turned his focus directly to Schumer. “But Chuck Schumer, no one respects you,” he said, before calling him a “lying scumbag politician” and saying he’d fit that definition if someone looked it up.

Mullin argued that Schumer was sidestepping what he sees as the real issue. In his view, the agencies being criticized are simply carrying out laws that some Democrats disagree with politically.

“Why don’t you just come out and be honest with the American people?” Mullin said. He accused Schumer of supporting open borders and pointed out that Democrats had opportunities to make changes to immigration enforcement during the Biden administration but didn’t act.

“If you want to defund Customs and Border Protection, if you want to defund ICE, you had time to do that,” Mullin said. “You didn’t.” He added that, in his opinion, those positions contribute to crime problems in major cities.

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He also took issue with what he described as a disconnect between Schumer’s personal security and his public stance. Mullin noted that Schumer, like other high-ranking officials, has a security detail, while ordinary Americans don’t.

“For you to say that is so disrespectful to the law enforcement that is out there protecting you,” he said. “How about he walks around these city streets without a detail? I wonder how safe he would feel.”

Meanwhile, Politico reporter Burgess Everett noted that Schumer continued his criticism on Thursday, referring to immigration enforcement agencies as a “rogue police force.”

Mullin and Schumer are not strangers to each other. The two served together in the Senate for several years before Mullin took over at the Department of Homeland Security last month. This latest exchange reflects a broader, ongoing divide in Washington over immigration policy and the role of federal enforcement agencies, a debate that shows little sign of cooling down anytime soon.

The Western Journal