独家报道： 美国众议院多数党领袖、路易斯安那州共和党人史蒂夫·斯卡利斯警告民主党人不要拿国土安全部（DHS）的资金问题作政治博弈，尤其在该国因美国对伊朗采取军事行动而面临潜在后果的高度戒备状态下。
“把美国人民的安全和福祉放在首位，停止以政治游戏讨好极左翼选民的行为，尤其是在当下这种局势下，”斯卡利斯在接受福克斯新闻数字频道采访时表示。
目前围绕国土安全部的部分政府停摆已进入第18天，而特朗普总统对伊朗采取军事行动后，这一僵局的意义更显重大。
两党已达成协议，为截至9月30日财年末的97%联邦政府项目提供资金，但民主党与共和党在特朗普的移民打击政策上存在分歧，导致国土安全部的资金问题无法达成折中方案。
众议院共和党领袖周末宣布，众议院将于本周四就一项两党国土安全部资金法案进行投票，该法案于今年1月通过，此举旨在施压民主党结束停摆。
然而，该法案多次在参议院未能推进，民主党要求设置新的移民执法限制条款，而共和党认为这些条款不可行。
“我们正处于更高的戒备状态，现在不是民主党人拿国土安全部资金玩政治游戏、导致部门停摆的时候，因为该部门的核心职责就是保障国内美国人的安全，”斯卡利斯表示，“所以我们再次提出这项法案，希望能让他们清醒过来，重新开放国土安全部。”
该法案于1月底以220票对207票通过，当时仅有7名民主党人跨党派投下支持票。除肯塔基州共和党众议员托马斯·马西外，所有共和党众议员均投了赞成票。
但斯卡利斯称，“任何负责任的国会议员”都应该在此次投票中支持该法案。
“全国都在关注，也期望国会议员将美国人民的安全放在心上。我希望这次能获得更多的支持票，”他说道。
国土安全部是“9·11”事件后成立的大型部门，负责范围广泛。
尽管其近期因移民与海关执法局（ICE）和海关与边境保护局（CBP）的行动备受关注，但该部门还负责网络安全与基础设施安全局（CISA）、美国特勤局等多个国家安全相关机构。
斯卡利斯强调，在国内举办的全球活动期间，该部门对保障美国安全至关重要。
“上周我们就世界杯安全问题举行了听证会，负责世界杯安保的人员表示可能不得不取消部分赛事，”他透露，“而这还是在伊朗局势发生之前的情况。”
伊丽莎白·埃尔金德是福克斯新闻数字频道的政治记者，主要报道众议院动态。此前曾为《每日邮报》和哥伦比亚广播公司新闻等媒体撰写报道。
关注她的推特账号：@liz_elkind，或发送线索至elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
EXCLUSIVE:House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., is warning Democrats not to play politics with the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) funding, particularly as the country is on high alert for any fallout from the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran.
“Put the safety and security of the American people first and stop playing political games to appease the far-left base, especially at a time like this,” Scalise said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
The ongoing partial government shutdown centered on DHS, now in its 18th day, has taken on new significance in the wake of President Donald Trump’s military action in Iran.
Bipartisan deals have funded 97% of the federal government through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, but divisions between Democrats and Republicans over Trump’s immigration crackdown have prevented any such compromise on DHS.
House GOP leaders announced over the weekend that the chamber would vote this Thursday on a bipartisan DHS funding bill that passed in January in a bid to pressure Democrats to end the shutdown.
That bill failed to advance in the Senate multiple times, with Democrats demanding new guardrails on immigration enforcement that Republicans have deemed nonstarters.
“We are on a higher level of alert, and this is not the time for Democrats to be playing games and shutting down the department that is focused on keeping Americans safe here at home,” Scalise said. “So we’re bringing this bill back up again to try to get them to come to their senses and open the Department of Homeland Security.”
The bill passed in a 220-207 vote in late January, with just seven Democrats crossing the aisle in support. All but one House Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., voted in favor.
However, Scalise said “any responsible member of Congress” should vote for the legislation this time.
“The country is watching and expects members of Congress to take the safety of the American people at heart. And so I hope we get a much larger vote this time,” he said.
DHS is a wide-ranging department that was created in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks.
While it’s most recently grabbed headlines for actions by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), DHS is also responsible for a variety of national security-focused offices like the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the U.S. Secret Service.
Scalise pointed out that it’s also critical to keeping the U.S. safe during global events being hosted within its borders.
“We had a hearing last week on the World Cup, the people in charge of security for the World Cup were saying that they may have to start canceling some events,” he said. “And that was before Iran.”
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
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