Republican on DHS fight: I’m not a ‘kamikaze pilot’

Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), a retired Air Force colonel and A-10 fighter pilot, urged Congress on Friday to pass a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security and avoid a shutdown that she said would hurt men and women who safeguard the country.

“I’m a fighter pilot, not a kamikaze pilot. So you know what we really need to be doing is focusing on doing our job to solve the problems instead of trying to poke the president in the eye,” McSally said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” 

“I do not believe we should be shutting down the funding for Department of Homeland Security. We’ve got men and women putting on their uniform today, wondering what’s going to happen in about 16 hours,” she added. 

The former A-10 fighter pilot and squadron commander also wrote in a USA Today op-ed Friday that “most Americans agree the president overreached with his executive actions on immigration.” 

However, she argued, “the president’s actions should be reversed, but not by withholding funding from the men and women who put their lives on the line to keep our country safe.” 

“The president overstepped his bounds by taking on the policymaking role of Congress, so the best action Congress can take is to do its job. That means securing our border and revamping our legal immigration system so it aligns with our economic needs,” she said. 

McSally, who was elected in 2014 and serves on the Homeland Security and Armed Services committees, said her Arizona district shares nearly 85 miles of border with Mexico, and is home to thousands of DHS employees and families, and about 1,075 Border Patrol agents. 

“The role these men and women play in protecting our communities is invaluable. They patrol our borders and monitor our ports to stop drugs, weapons and money from moving into our communities,” she said. “They track cartel members and dangerous criminals who have come into our country illegally and they are one of our last lines of defense against terror attacks on our homeland.” 

She said despite a 2013 shutdown, roughly 85 percent of the DHS workforce were deemed essential and went to work. 

“We owe better to the families of those who sacrifice so much to ensure our safety,” she said. 

The House is expected to vote Friday on a bill funding the DHS for three weeks in an attempt to avert a shutdown slated for Saturday. If the bill passes, the Senate is expected to quickly follow suit.

Last month, the House passed a DHS funding bill, but attached amendments that would gut Obama’s executive actions on immigration that would delay deportations of illegal immigrants. The Senate is moving forward with a “clean” funding bill free of those amendments. 

McSally also urged Congress to develop a green card and citizenship system to give workers of all skill levels a “legal and safe means to come here and contribute to our economy” and fix a “failed border strategy.” 

“We can find agreement on most issues,” McSally said on MSNBC.