(Headline USA) The GOP candidate in the Montana race for U.S. Senate reportedly has told supporters on multiple occasions that, if elected, he would support dismantling the Department of Homeland Security, which includes agencies such as the bureaus of Customs and Border Protection, Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Tim Sheehy—a retired Navy SEAL who earned the endorsement of former President Donald Trump last month—told supporters at an August event in Kalispell, Montana, that DHS could “go away,” arguing the agency is “anything but homeland security.”
He made a similar comment in September, saying DHS was “not needed,” according to Axios.
The pledge comes in contrast to the Republican Party’s efforts to increase funding for the agency that oversees border security.
However, some conservatives have been similarly outspoken against DHS, arguing that, under the Biden administration, the agency has abandoned its primary purpose and shown that it can easily be weaponized to achieve the opposite objective of aiding and abetting illegal immigration.
“Why should I give another dollar to that smirking son of a b**** Alejandro Mayorkas who sat there and lied to me under oath and is lying about Border Patrol agents and is allowing Texans to die? I shouldn’t,” Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, said last year.
Trump endorsed Sheehy over Rep. Matt Ronsendale, R-Mont., last month, calling Sheehy an “American hero” who has the best chance at ousting Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., in November.
“Tim is a Political Outsider, Strong on the Border, the Military/Vets, and our constantly under siege Second Amendment,” Trump posted to Truth Social. “He will stand tall in the fight against the Radical Left Democrats, who are Destroying our Country. Also, he is far more likely to Defeat Lazy Jon. America First Patriot Tim Sheehy has my Complete and Total Endorsement!”
Sheehy has also capitalized on immigration, releasing an ad campaign earlier this year that hits at Tester for Democrats’ failed immigration policies.
“Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy supports Trump’s wall and will destroy the cartels,” a narrator says in one of the 15-second ads.
