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The ongoing government shutdown over Homeland Security funding could disrupt security planning for the FIFA World Cup, raising concerns among lawmakers as U.S. cities prepare to host matches this summer.
Congressional Republicans warn that with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) shuttered amid the funding lapse, host cities in both blue and red states gearing up for the games later this year could fall behind in planning.
“I think it’ll be a concern real fast if we’re not able to get [DHS] reopened,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., told Fox News Digital.
The World Cup kicks off in June and will be held across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Several U.S. cities are set to host matches, including New Jersey, New York, Boston, Dallas, Houston, St. Louis, Atlanta, Miami, Philadelphia, the San Francisco Bay Area and Seattle.
DHS is the chief agency responsible for securing host cities as local officials prepare for an influx of fans from around the world. The agency has been shuttered for two weeks, with negotiations between the White House and Senate Democrats stalled.
Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., told Fox News Digital he frequently discusses World Cup preparations with local officials but has not yet heard concerns about the shutdown’s impact.
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“I mean, look, if that’s the concern that Republican senators have, then have them press the White House to move forward on these negotiations,” Kim said. “You know, I just feel like they are not moving forward with the urgency that the American people want to see.”
Congressional Democrats have blocked funding for DHS in a bid to enact reforms to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), but neither side has reached an agreement on a path forward.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital it was clear to him the shutdown could affect the ramp-up effort to prepare for the World Cup, though he said he had not yet heard concerns from local officials.
“I think the Democrats took the wrong hostage,” Cornyn said. “I mean, they’re mad at immigration enforcement, which they don’t believe in, but they are taking TSA and FEMA and the Coast Guard hostage, and they didn’t have anything to do with that.”
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Senate Democrats argue there has been little urgency from the White House to move toward reopening DHS, citing a slowdown in negotiations over the past week.
They have put the responsibility for ending the shutdown on the Trump administration, despite Republicans publicly pushing back against several of their demands, including requiring ICE agents to obtain judicial warrants and refrain from wearing masks, among other changes.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., told Fox News Digital she had not heard from officials in Boston about possible disruptions to World Cup preparations. She argued Democrats’ demands that ICE adhere to the same rules as local police forces were reasonable.
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Warren dismissed the criticism as typical political posturing.
“Well, sounds like the usual for the Trump administration,” she said. “All talk, no action.”
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