Ciscomani Owns this Shutdown
Original Interview:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EozyuKDTm6s
The episode is a political commentary discussion hosted by Michael Bryan and Andrew about the DHS shutdown, with a focus on Rep. Juan Ciscomani (AZ-06) and his public statements in a Jim Sharpe / AZ Political Podcast interview.
The hosts argue that Ciscomani is misrepresenting both his own role and Democratic responsibility for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)shutdown. They frame him as a reliable MAGA-aligned Republican who votes with the Trump wing of the party, including for a sweeping “big, beautiful” budget/omnibus bill that contained deep cuts Democrats found unacceptable, particularly to ACA (Obamacare) subsidies. They emphasize that Republicans control the House, Senate, and presidency in this scenario, so blaming Democrats for the shutdown is, in their view, dishonest.
A central dispute is over funding for DHS and ICE:
* The Senate, with Republican support, passed a bill funding all of DHS except ICE, including Border Patrol, CBP, Coast Guard, TSA, FEMA, CISA, Secret Service, etc.
* The House, led by Speaker Mike Johnson and with Ciscomani as Vice Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security, is pushing a bill that funds all of DHS including ICE at current levels and refuses to take up the Senate bill.
* Ciscomani publicly claims he opposes shutdowns and insists his “Pay Our Homeland Defenders Act” would fund the entire DHS and that Democrats are to blame for blocking it. The hosts counter that the obvious sticking point is ICE, and that Ciscomani is following Trump’s and Johnson’s “marching orders.”
Michael and Andrew argue that Democrats’ refusal is grounded in demands for reforms and accountability at ICE, not a desire to defund border security. They repeatedly assert:
* ICE is responsible for civil rights abuses, including deaths in custody, people dropped in dangerous conditions, and surveillance overreach.
* ICE functions as a shock‑troop arm of the surveillance state: using Flock cameras, data‑sharing agreements with local police, cell‑phone tracking, license plate readers, and Palantir facial recognition tools, often without warrants or proper oversight.
* Many of the people ICE targets are not criminals—often undocumented immigrants with deep community roots whose only legal issue is a civil immigration violation.
They criticize Ciscomani for:
* Calling undocumented people “criminals” and pushing local “cooperation” that they interpret as unquestioning capitulation to ICE.
* Rejecting meaningful reforms that would simply enforce constitutional norms (warrants, due process, oversight, record‑keeping).
* Supporting a system that, in their view, advances Stephen Miller–style white nationalist policy goals and erodes civil liberties, including for U.S. citizens.
They also discuss institutional tensions:
* Growing conflict between ICE and the judiciary, with judges (including Republican appointees) signaling potential contempt issues as ICE ignores court orders.
* The judiciary’s limited enforcement tools and the weakened moral authority of the courts, contrasted with Trump’s willingness to back loyalist lawyers and officials.
Toward the end, they touch briefly on veterans’ issues, suggesting Ciscomani’s record on ACA and the shutdown has harmed many veterans and their families who rely on subsidized coverage and DHS paychecks. They predict veterans’ policy will become a political vulnerability for him, especially running against a veteran Democratic nominee (Joe).
The hosts conclude that Ciscomani’s rhetoric about opposing shutdowns contradicts his actions: in their view, he helped create the DHS shutdown by insisting on full ICE funding without serious reforms, thereby harming workers, families, and public safety while denying responsibility.BlogforArizona Grassroots Media Network:https://blogforarizona.net/Relax and hangout with Andrew:https://www.youtube.com/@Nieblham
