RSC Law Enforcement, Criminal Justice, and Public Safety Professionals Send Letter to Schumer Demanding an End to the Shutdown

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Republican Study Committee (RSC) Member Rep. Brad Knott (NC-13) led ten of his colleagues, all of whom served as law enforcement, criminal justice, and public safety professionals, in sending a letter to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer detailing how the ongoing Democrat government shutdown is posing a dire public safety risk to Americans.

The letter, covered first by Fox News, comes after the federal government has been shuttered for 36 days, the longest shutdown in American history. Dedicated public servants are turning to food pantries and part-time employment to feed their families as they work without pay.

The letter was signed by Representatives Brad Knott (NC-13), John Carter (TX-31), Ben Cline (VA-06), Mike Ezell MS-04), Carlos Gimenez (FL-28), Abe Hamadeh (AZ-08), Clay Higgins (LA-03), Laurel Lee (FL-15), Troy Nehls (TX-22), Derek Schmidt (KS-02), and Pete Stauber (MN-08).

Read the full piece in Fox News here.

Text of the full letter is below:

Dear Minority Leader Schumer:

Today, we write to urge you and your Democratic colleagues to pass the clean funding bill without delay. As former law enforcement, criminal justice, and public safety professionals, we are aware of the negative effects that a lapse in funding has on personnel and public safety. To that end, Republicans in the House of Representatives swiftly passed H.R. 5371, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2026, on September 19, 2025, which would have funded the government through November 21, 2025.

In contrast, Senate Democrats turned their backs on the hard-working federal employees who ensure our nation's safety. On October 23, 2025, you led your Democratic colleagues to vote against S. 3012, the Shutdown Fairness Act, which would have paid federal law enforcement, intelligence analysts, and professional staff in our national security and homeland security agencies who are still working during the lapse in funding.

By rejecting the Shutdown Fairness Act, you and your Democratic colleagues voted to withhold pay from frontline law enforcement personnel as they continue to confront very real and present dangers threatening our society. Not only does this action represent a basic disrespect for their work, jeopardizing their livelihoods will likely result in permanently losing a large number of trained personnel across various agencies. In practice, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) will be less prepared to safeguard air travel. The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) will lose momentum in the fight against fentanyl trafficking. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, who are already facing bounties from transnational criminal cartels to be paid upon their murder, will lose backup in their ongoing efforts to enforce immigration laws.

Some of these workers are already turning to food pantries to feed their families, taking out loans to pay their bills, or even seeking temporary part-time employment - all because of Senate Democrats' desire to use government funding as political leverage. While President Trump's decisive leadership has ensured certain federal law enforcement personnel received pay, we need a permanent solution. We urge you to do the right thing for our public safety leaders by funding the government.

Sincerely,

Brad Knott (NC-13), John Carter (TX-31), Ben Cline (VA-06), Mike Ezell (MS-04), Carlos Gimenez (FL-28), Abe Hamadeh (AZ-08), Clay Higgins (LA-03), Laurel Lee (FL-15), Troy Nehls (TX-22), Derek Schmidt (KS-02), and Pete Stauber (MN-08).