Rep. Evans Exposes Democrats’ Defund-The-Police Agenda During Hearing on Longest Partial Government Shutdown in American History

WASHINGTON -- Forty days into the longest partial government shutdown in American history, Congressman Gabe Evans took to the microphone to speak on the harmful and devastating impacts the Democrats' defunding of the Department of Homeland Security has had on our nation.

As the shutdown continues, the consequences are no longer theoretical - they are impacting airport security, disaster response, and the safety of communities across the country, including in Colorado.

Rep Evans' remarks were made during a hearing hosted by the Homeland Security Committee, titled: "Funding Lapse and Security Gaps: Assessing the Harmful Impacts of the DHS Shutdown on Americans."

Pulling from his own 10 years of experience in law enforcement, Evans highlighted the Democrats' longstanding agenda to defund the police.

"As a police officer for 10 years… I watched as my colleagues on the other side of the aisle pushed to defund law enforcement. They ran on this message. They opened our borders - and that's what's happening today. Democrats continue to defund the police, just by refusing to pass the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill."

Evans noted that for the second time in six months, Democrats have chosen to shut down the government to play political games - placing their own radical priorities over the American people's safety.

During the hearing TSA Administrator Ha Nguyen McNeil testified that wait times at airports are the longest in agency history, call-out rates have surged 40-50%, and more than 480 TSA employees have quit since the shutdown began.

In Colorado, Denver International Airport (DIA) recently made national headlines after asking for grocery store and gas gift card donationsto support TSA agents working without pay - a prime example of how Colorado Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet are willingly harming their constituents as they actively vote against agents paychecks.

Congressman Evans also addressed a comment made by a Democrat on the committee who referred to federal law enforcement as terrorists - demonstrating how out of touch their party's harmful rhetoric is.

"I can't believe I just heard my ears. I spent twelve years in the U.S. Army, deployed as part of the Global War on Terror and another ten years in law enforcement. I literally just heard my colleague across the aisle say ICE was committing terrorist attacks. I don't think you can get a clearer example of where folks stand when my colleagues on the other side of the aisle compare federal law enforcement to terrorists at a time when we have literal terrorists that I deployed to fight, committing attacks in the homeland. That is incredibly disappointing to me."

During a period of elevated threats of terrorism, the uncovering of sleeper cells, and heightened tensions in the Middle East, the imperative to fully fund the Department of Homeland Security has never been greater.

But despite these concerns, Democrats have rejected the agency's funding, ensuring critical agencies remain shut down:

• The Cybersecurity Infrastructure Security Agency: An agency that has blocked billions of cyber threats to civilian networks and critical infrastructure in 2025.

• The U.S. Coast Guard: Key to combating drug trafficking in the Western Hemisphere, a mission inherently critical because under the previous administration drugs killed more than 400,000 Americans.

• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): The agency responsible for combatting wildfires and emergency natural disaster risks - during a time where Colorado District 8 currently remains under a severe drought, and temperatures continue to rise as the state nears the end of an unusually dry winter.

• The Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC): The very entity that trains federal law enforcement - An entity you'd think Democrats would want to fund considering that they consistently claim that federal law enforcement doesn't have the correct training to do their jobs effectively.

House Republicans have passed legislation twice to fund the Department of Homeland Security. Congressman Evans is calling on Senate Democrats including Colorado's own: Hickenlooper and Bennet, to end the shutdown immediately and restore the critical operations that ensure Americans' safety is not compromised any further.

To watch the entire 5 minutes of Congressman Evans remarks, click here.