Biggs Warns Senate Will Block DHS Bill, Forcing Short-Term Stopgap Amid Funding Crisis

With Department of Homeland Security funding set to expire Friday, Rep. Andy Biggs stated on Thursday that he expects Senate Democrats to block the House-passed bill and force Congress into a short-term stopgap.

“There’s going to be a vote sometime today, probably early afternoon, in the Senate on the House bill to fund DHS for the rest of the year,” the Arizona Republican said. “I don’t think it’s going to pass.”

Biggs added that lawmakers are expected to pivot to a continuing resolution lasting two or three weeks, though he suggested the timing could trigger a brief lapse before the House receives the measure.

“That might not happen until tomorrow, which means that the House would probably get a short-term CR maybe Friday night, maybe Saturday. Maybe even Sunday,” he said. “I don’t think you’re going to see a full-year funding.”

The DHS funding deadline has raised warnings about potential disruption to agency operations, including the Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, if Congress fails to act.

Biggs also discussed his questioning of Attorney General Pam Bondi during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday. He linked an inquiry to “Arctic Frost” and Section 702 surveillance authorities.

After Bondi described the matter as “very active and ongoing,” Biggs stated he wanted the public to know the investigation continues.

“I was glad to hear that the investigation is ongoing,” he said. “I wanted the American people to understand that this is not over.”

Biggs claimed he and others have sought information about surveillance of Americans tied to former special counsel Jack Smith.

“Jack Smith is still potentially culpable for intrusion into Americans’ lives without actually any kind of criminal predicate,” Biggs said.

Turning to the hearing more broadly, Biggs accused Democrats of focusing heavily on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein during proceedings.

“They staged it. It was all about Epstein. It was never going to be about anything else,” he said. “This administration has been more transparent on the Epstein, the release of Epstein information, than any other administration.”

Biggs also asserted, “There is no evidence that President [Donald] Trump did anything wrong.”

Asked about upcoming closed-door testimony from former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton regarding their relationship with Epstein, Biggs predicted limited cooperation.

“We’ll probably get a lot of Fifth Amendment claims,” he said. “But mostly, I think you’re going to get, ‘I don’t recall,’ which he compared to prior testimony in the Benghazi investigation.”

Biggs expressed hope that Bill Clinton would acknowledge knowing Epstein and that the committee would obtain information related to the Clinton Foundation.

“I’m hopeful that we get information on what role Jeffrey Epstein had in setting up the Clinton Foundation,” he said. “There’s a whole host of things.”