White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt on Monday flayed Democrats who have stalled funding the Department of Homeland Security, urging that after Saturday night’s attempted assassination, the time for partisan games is long past over.

On Saturday, shooter Cole Allen allegedly sought to kill President Donald Trump during the White House Correspondents Association dinner. The incident capped a week in which Republicans have sought to pry loose full funding for the Department of Homeland Security, but Democratic lawmakers continue to hold the department’s budget hostage.

A visibly angry Leavitt said Monday that she and the American people are sick of political games that endanger lives.

“Saturday night served as yet another reminder of how important it is to fund the Department of Homeland Security,” Leavitt said.

“It is shameful that the United States Congress has kept this vital agency defunded for 73 days, the longest shutdown of a federal agency in U.S. history. The Secret Service is a vital component of DHS and it has been directly impacted by this reckless political gamesmanship,” she continued.

“Saturday night served as yet another reminder of how important it is to fund the Department of Homeland Security,” says@PressSec.

“This defunding of DHS should be a national scandal. If Republicans defunded DHS, and we saw another attempted assassination on a Democrat…pic.twitter.com/FZxiZtBSgJ

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47)April 27, 2026

“Everyone in this room who was there on Saturday night witnessed the heroes of Secret Service and federal law enforcement jump into action in the face of grave danger and uncertainty. Agents put their own lives in harm’s way to protect the president, the first lady, the vice president, and members of the Cabinet. One agent can be seen in video footage literally jumping onto the stage, not knowing where the attacker was or where the bullets were coming from at that point, to place his body in front of the President of the United States,” she continued.

“These men and women are heroes, they perform their duties daily, and they have children and families, too, and they do it despite the political turmoil surrounding their agency,” Leavitt said.

Source: VidNews » Feed