The third Democrat-fueled shutdown continues apace as the purported party of leadership and compassion holds the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding hostage because it wants ICE "reforms." As has been reported, they know that ICE and Border Patrol have already been fully funded through the One Big Beautiful Law. So, the only agencies affected by this shutdown are TSA, the Coast Guard, and FEMA.
Speaking of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, they are ramping up to literally clean up the D.C. swamp. As my colleague Ben Smith reported, FEMA has been tasked to ameliorate the environmental disaster of raw sewage pouring into the Potomac River and coordinate remediation efforts to restore the river to a safe state. This crisis was created and furthered because of the failure of local leadership. Three guesses on which party?
As Smith wrote:
DC Water admitted it understated contamination levels tied to the spill by a factor of 100 after millions of gallons of raw sewage entered the Potomac. The total discharge reached 242 million gallons, and remediation efforts could take up to nine months. The revised data and extended cleanup timeline raised serious questions about infrastructure oversight and public communication.
Because the magnitude of the cleanup is beyond DC Water's capabilities, Smith further reported that President Donald Trump has directed FEMA to coordinate the cleanup of the Potomac and its water supply across the region.
Read More: DC Water Admits 100x Data Error As Networks Ignore Massive Potomac Sewage Spill
Trump Orders Federal Takeover After Potomac Sewage Spill Hits Wes Moore
DHS Secretary Kristi Noem pointed out the rank hypocrisy of Democrats punishing the very agency that is essentially cleaning up the mess that they've created.
Funny, that.
Noem wrote on X:
Democrats in Congress have shut down @FEMA funding—leaving our hard working employees to work without pay—yet FEMA is now stepping in to coordinate cleanup of one of the largest raw sewage spills in U.S. history.
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) February 17, 2026
Thanks to gross mismanagement by Maryland's Democrat leaders,…
Democrats in Congress have shut down @FEMA funding—leaving our hard working employees to work without pay—yet FEMA is now stepping in to coordinate cleanup of one of the largest raw sewage spills in U.S. history.
Thanks to gross mismanagement by Maryland's Democrat leaders, hundreds of millions of gallons of raw sewage has reportedly been dumped into the Potomac River—flowing straight through our nation's capital and endangering millions of people, wildlife, and the entire DC region's water supply.
Democrats are withholding paychecks from the men and women of @dhsgov while they clean up this Democrat-created disaster. Unbelievable hypocrisy.
Not really unbelievable, just what Democrats consider governance. Chaos and Clusters are the standard operating procedures, while hardworking Americans, like the employees of FEMA, pay the price.
In the meantime, the "moderate" Virginia governor Abigail Spanberger (D), the fabulist Maryland Governor Wes Moore (D), and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) have been radio silent on not just the sewage crisis, but on FEMA's efforts to mitigate the destruction.
We @KatiePavlichNN reached out to VA Governor Spanberger four days ago and have received no response. We also reached out to MD Governor Moore and DC Mayor Bowser. Nothing. https://t.co/yzFXPy91ni
— Katie Pavlich (@KatiePavlich) February 16, 2026
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