Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz Is 'Serene' About Withholding DHS Funding As TSA and Coast Guard Go Without Pay

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI) is bucking to be the Democrat Minority Whip when current whip, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), retires. Of course, should the midterms go south for Republicans, Schatz would gleefully run right over Democrat Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to take up the mantle of Majority Leader — he's that thirsty. Just as in the case of Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), Punchbowl News loves to follow Schatz like he's the lead in a soap opera. Last year, when Schatz was garnering support to become the next Minority Whip (he thus far has no challengers), the outlet did an insider piece about Schatz's "inner circle," as if we are all on the edge of our seats to know about this.

The stakes of this particular race are even higher because whoever is elected the Democratic whip after the 2026 election immediately has a leg up in the eventual contest to succeed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as the chamber’s top Democrat.
Regardless of whether this ends up being an actual race or a coronation, we wanted to bring back a signature Punchbowl News feature: The staffers – both on and off the Hill – who matter most in Schatz’s orbit.

Like a good foot soldier, Schatz marches in lockstep with Democrats in blocking Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding because they want "ICE reforms." At a February fundraiser in Hawaii, Schatz said that Republicans, "are living in their own information silo and don't fully appreciate the public's outrage over the killing of two unarmed Americans at ICE protests in Minnesota."

Zoom in: Some 130 donors flocked to Schatz's annual fundraising weekend at The Kahala Hotel & Resort in Honolulu to get to know the party's presumptive No. 2 in the Senate next year.
His event, which bookends a week of destination fundraisers in Hawaii that starts with an event held by Sen. Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), typically draws around three dozen donors.
But the strong turnout this year reflected lobbyists' desire to improve their relationship with Schatz and growing Democratic optimism that a Senate majority is within reach in November.
With Schatz all but guaranteed to be the next Senate Democratic whip, he's on the short list of lawmakers who could at some point succeed Chuck Schumer as Democratic leader.

Schatz is in a silo all his own. He's so busy basking in his own brilliance that he doesn't appreciate the public's outrage over the fact that TSA is going without pay because of this latest shutdown, and more than 300 TSA officers have already quit. The Coast Guard is also going without paychecks, and as the senator of a Pacific island state, which houses a significant portion of the guard, you would think he'd care more. Couple this with the heightened anxiety Americans feel over the conflict with Iran, and the sleeper cells of terrorists who are now happily plotting and executing attacks on American soil and American embassies abroad.

But Schatz is doing what Democrats do: deflect and blame. On Tuesday, during the Democrat Senate briefing, Schatz once again claimed they offered to work with the Republicans but were rejected. He held the line that it was the Republicans' fault that no resolution on the DHS funding could be reached.

WATCH:

Republicans are the ones blocking funding for TSA and other critical agencies right now. pic.twitter.com/HnfvaGdX2l
— Senator Brian Schatz (@SenBrianSchatz) March 10, 2026

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But Wednesday told a different tale. Schatz made it known that he and his colleagues feel no pain over their continued withholding of funding.

SHOT: “More than 300 TSA officials have quit during the latest DHS shutdown, with call out rates more than doubling at airports nationwide.” (CBS News)

CHASER: “[Democrats] are very serene with what is going on,” says Sen. Schatz. pic.twitter.com/xQWfzdEBN2
— Ryan Wrasse (@RWrasse) March 11, 2026

Will the real Sen. Brian Schatz please stand up? His attitude reflects that he really does not care one whit about his constituents. As stated above, numerous Coast Guard divisions are located in Hawaii. According to the United States Coast Guard 14th District site, 1,260 active duty Coast Guard personnel are assigned here.

1,150 active duty guardsmen
150 reserve
80 civilian employees

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There is no accurate way to quantify how many TSA personnel work in and around Daniel K. Inouye International Airport. But since Hawaii prioritizes the hiring of its citizens and natives of the state, you can bet a large number of them are suffering along with the Coast Guard. So, to gain political street cred and to position himself for a more national office, Schatz is holding his own people hostage. But he feels "serene" about it.

What a guy.

Editor's Note: The Democrats are doing everything in their power to undermine the integrity of our elections.

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