Chuck Schumer stood on the Senate floor Wednesday night and told the country that nobody respects ICE or Border Patrol.
He said it out loud, into a microphone, for the record.
By Thursday morning, the President and the Secretary of Homeland Security were both demanding he answer for it.
What Schumer Actually Said
This wasn't a slip.
Schumer was in the middle of a floor speech opposing Republican efforts to fund ICE and Border Patrol through the budget reconciliation process – a move designed to bypass Democrat obstruction entirely.
He called the agencies "rogue."
Then he said it: "Adding $140 billion to an agency, to two groups, Border Patrol and ICE, that nobody respects in this country."
Nobody respects them.
The men and women who patrol 1,954 miles of southern border in triple-digit heat.
The agents who kick down doors to arrest child traffickers.
The officers processing thousands of illegal crossings every single week.
Schumer told them – and the whole country – that nobody respects what they do.
The Response Was Immediate
Trump was on Truth Social within hours.
"Wow! Cryin' Chuck Schumer just said, for the whole World to hear, that 'NOBODY RESPECTS BORDER PATROL OR ICE,'" he posted.
https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/2047322824029659639?s=20
He called it "one of the most egregious, incorrect, unpatriotic, and dangerous statements I have EVER heard from a 'professional' politician."
Then: "HE MUST IMMEDIATELY APOLOGIZE TO THESE GREAT PATRIOTS, AND I MEAN NOW!"
But it was DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin who delivered the real gut punch.
Fox News anchor Bill Melugin played Mullin the clip live on America's Newsroom and asked for his response.
Mullin's ears went red.
"It takes a lot to get me upset," he said. "But Chuck Schumer, no one respects you. The definition of a lying scumbag politician – that is you. You would be the definition if you Googled you right now."
He didn't stop there.
"How about he walks around these city streets without a detail?" Mullin added. "I wonder how safe he would feel."
Mullin pointed out that Schumer moves around Washington with a security detail – paid for by the taxpayers who also pay the agents Schumer just told the country nobody respects.
The Stakes Are Real
Here's the part that makes this worse.
DHS has been in partial shutdown since February 14th – nearly 70 days.
Trump issued an emergency executive order to keep agents paid.
That money is almost gone.
Mullin warned this week that DHS can cover exactly one more payroll cycle.
"After we get through April, I've got one payroll left and there is no more emergency funds," he told Fox News Tuesday. "The president can't do another executive order for us to use money because there's no more money there."
https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2047629791709257968?s=20
And while that clock runs down, Chuck Schumer is on the Senate floor telling the country nobody respects them.
Senate Republicans voted 50-48 Thursday morning to advance a $70 billion funding plan through reconciliation – bypassing Schumer entirely.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the move would "ensure that America's borders are secure."
It passed without a single Democratic vote.
This Is Who Democrats Have Always Been
The National Border Patrol Council – the labor organization that represents rank-and-file agents – issued a statement Thursday that said Schumer chose to "attack and undermine Border Patrol agents and ICE officers."
"The problem isn't the agents on the line," the NBPC wrote. "It's politicians like Schumer who tear them down to appease the extreme and unhinged maniacs who hate law and order."
Retired Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino told Breitbart Texas that Schumer "encapsulates the left" and said the comment reflected Democrats saying "the quiet part out loud."
He's right – and it isn't the first time.
https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/2046573890541941240?s=20
In 2018, "Abolish ICE" moved from activist Twitter into mainstream Democratic platforms almost overnight.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ran on it and won.
Kirsten Gillibrand endorsed it.
Elizabeth Warren called for replacing ICE with "something that reflects our values."
Democrats spent the Biden years quietly distancing themselves from that moment – pretending the base had moved on, that they still supported law enforcement.
Schumer just blew up that fiction on the Senate floor.
The agents who may not get paid next month heard every word.
Sources:
- "Trump Calls on Schumer to Apologize for Ripping Border Patrol, ICE," The Washington Times, April 23, 2026.
- "Mullin Calls Schumer 'Lying Scumbag Politician' Amid GOP Push to Fund DHS," The Hill, April 24, 2026.
- "'Lying Scumbag': Mullin Eviscerates Schumer After He Says 'Nobody Respects' ICE, Border Patrol," The Daily Wire, April 23, 2026.
- "Exclusive: Former Border Chief Bovino Slams Schumer Over Derogatory Border Patrol-ICE Comments," Breitbart, April 24, 2026.
- "Senate GOP Takes First Step Toward Unlocking Budget Reconciliation to Fund ICE, Border Patrol," Fox News, April 24, 2026.
- National Border Patrol Council, Statement on Senate Floor Remarks, April 23, 2026.
