Donalds: No Border Security, No Government Shutdown Deal

Representative Byron Donalds (R-FL) appeared on Fox News to address the looming shutdown, stating that he’s against a clean CR (continuing resolution) and that a secure border is necessary in order to fund the government.

In an interview (that appears to have been edited for clarity and brevity) posted on Rep. Donalds’ social media press account, the Florida congressman stood firm in his principles.

“The Senate, they just want to do a clean CR and then they want to see everybody around Christmas or January. I’m a flat-out “no” to that. If this government continues in operation, the border must be secure, period. Enough is enough. Our country cannot take this. I don’t care about anybody’s politics. You will live in a red state, blue state, red city, blue city; everybody’s getting this damage done to them. And it’s simply because of radicals in the executive branch who want this policy. They’ve been wanting it a long time. Now the American people have to see it, so enough is enough we got to stop it,” stated Donalds.

Fox News’ Martha McCallum pressed on, stating that this approach is “backfiring.”

Donalds responded, “The reason they won’t reverse course is because the staff at the White House, at Homeland Security, they are ideologues, they have wanted this open border policy for as long as they’ve been in politics. And now they got it. They’re not going to reverse course, so Congress has to force their hand and do what’s necessary to reverse course and secure our border.

McCallum then questioned Donalds on whether he would be willing to shut down the government over this issue.

"I’ll be clear: Joe Biden wants to shut down because as far as I’m concerned, if he secures the border, they will put people on Capitol Hill to work with him. But if he chooses not to secure our border, it will be his choice to shut down the government, not ours.”

Last week, Rep. Donalds found himself in a dispute with Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) concerning Donalds’ 30-day Continuing Resolution (CR). Rep. Gaetz believes that his CR did not do enough to fight back against the Biden administration, stating that “it isn’t what we fought for in January” (referencing the Freedom Caucus’ stance against Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy).

On X (formerly Twitter), Rep. Donalds reiterated the main points of his resolution, saying "The truth is Congress needs more time to do the necessary spending cuts and reforms to stop the weaponization of our government and save our country."

However, Rep. Gaetz replied to the tweet, calling it "a terrible bill" where the 8% cut lasts 30 days, the border provisions "will be ignored by Biden," and it does not defund the ongoing investigation into former President Donald Trump by Special Counsel Jack Smith.

"The 8 percent cut is for 30 days. The border policy will be ignored by Biden. This CR funds the election interference of Jack Smith. This is a terrible bill, lumping the funding of disparate agencies of government into one BAD VOTE. This isn’t what we fought for in January. It is the opposite. And it doesn’t have the votes," replied Rep. Gaetz.

On the House floor, Gaetz proclaimed he was "not voting to continue the failure, the waste, the corruption, and the election interference, and in some cases, the efforts that could lead this country into World War III."

Additionally, he called the resolution "an insult to the principles we fought for in January."

Rep. Donalds replied to Gaetz in a separate tweet, calling on him to "tell the people the truth," namely that the Department of Justice (DOJ), nor a Special Counsel, will be affected by a government shutdown anyway, imploring Gaetz on how he intends to defund Smith.

"Matt, tell the people the truth. The DOJ will operate whether the government is shut down or not. Special Counsel's [sic] have always exempted themselves from shutdowns. What's your plan to get the votes to defund Jack Smith? You'll need more than tweets and hot takes!!" Donalds replied.

Gaetz quickly answered: "I want to send Jack Smith and every person who works at the DOJ a message. Your legislation sends them a check. Here’s my plan: Single subject spending bills Programmatic reform at DOJ A Continuing Resolution like the one you filed continues American decline. When you pitched this idea to House Conservatives you heard the very negative reaction and persisted anyway. Why? Abandon this disaster and let’s get one of our best players (you!) back onside."