[Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 64 (Monday, April 13, 2026)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1704-S1705]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                          Trump Administration

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, over the last 2 weeks, Americans were 
aghast watching two disasters unfold simultaneously: one abroad, one 
right here in this Chamber. Abroad, Donald Trump is escalating his ill-
conceived Iranian incursion, threatening to wipe out an entire 
civilization, driving up gas prices with no plans and no end in sight.
  And right here at home, congressional Republicans are keeping the 
Department of Homeland Security shut down because they cannot govern 
themselves, let alone govern this country.
  Why? Because Stephen Miller won't let them. Stephen Miller, an 
unelected ideologue, is calling the shots on immigration policy in this 
country, not Congress, not Senators, not the Appropriations Committee--
Stephen Miller.
  Here is the bottom line: Stephen Miller and Donald Trump refuse to 
accept commonsense, bipartisan reforms to ICE and Border Patrol. 
Republicans would rather keep DHS shuttered than cross the man who has 
made cruelty the centerpiece of this administration's immigration 
agenda.
  Republicans are rejecting bipartisan reforms--reforms rooted in 
transparency and oversight and rule of law--because they refuse to 
cross the one man whose agenda is built on cruelty.
  So let's be clear: What have Republicans chosen? What have 
Republicans chosen? Not a clean funding bill with commonsense reforms, 
not bipartisan solutions. They have chosen--the Republicans have chosen 
chaos. They are dragging the Senate through a painful, arduous, and 
partisan reconciliation process, not because it is the best path but 
because it is the only way they can avoid accountability for how ICE 
and Border Patrol operate.
  They would rather walk the plank politically, vote after vote, 
amendment after amendment, than show a shred of independence from 
Stephen Miller. That is not leadership. That is not governing. That is 
dysfunction, plain and simple.
  And to make matters worse, they can't even agree among themselves on 
how to do it.
  On the SAVE Act, Republicans continue to push forward on their effort 
to pass the SAVE Act. While Republicans claim it is a voter ID bill, 
the insidious truth is, it is a subterfuge for a voter suppression law 
that would disenfranchise millions of Americans.
  The SAVE Act purges millions of Americans from voter rolls. The SAVE 
Act kills online mail-in voter registration. The SAVE Act rejects 
common IDs to register, forces Americans to register in person, and 
punishes married women. The SAVE Act does all of that.
  This isn't about protecting elections. That is a lot of bull. 
Republicans are

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going all out to pass the SAVE Act because they are afraid they will 
not win the midterms and are trying to cheat to get ahead. If 
Republicans can't win over the voters, they just don't get to write 
American voters out of the system.
  Instead of reversing course on their unpopular agenda, the Republican 
answer to their political problems is to make it harder for people to 
vote.
  Senate Democrats will continue to fight this SAVE Act with everything 
we have.