The Department of Homeland Security is “disintegrating” as the partial government shutdown continues with no end in sight, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought warned senators Thursday.
Vought explained during a Senate Budget Committee hearing that the department has struggled to retain workers amid the lapse in federal funding, which began more than two months ago on Feb. 14.
“As of right now, the Department of Homeland Security is disintegrating because [DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin] and I are having to figure out ways to temporarily fund people’s paychecks so we don’t have people quit and embark on new careers,” Vought testified.
The OMB director warned more DHS employees “will indeed” quit if the shutdown is allowed to continue.
“Some of the things we were seeing the weekend Secretary Mullin took office was incredibly concerning,” Vought said. “We have to have a funding mechanism for the entirety of the Department of Homeland Security.”
President Trump signed an emergency order on April 3 to compensate every DHS employee who lost pay amid the shutdown.
The order came after hundreds of TSA employees, who had been working without pay, quit the DHS subagency, resulting in massive lines at airports across the country.
More than 35,000 DHS employees have begun receiving paychecks because of Trump’s order.
However, Vought noted that the emergency move is only a temporary fix intended to keep Mullin from having “a complete walkout on his hands.”
Earlier this month, Republican congressional leaders announced that an agreement had been reached on supporting a bill to fund all of DHS except for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Patrol.
Senate Republicans intend to fund ICE and Border Patrol through a separate process that won’t require Democratic support.
The House of Representatives, however, has not yet scheduled a vote on the agreed-upon measure.
DHS did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
