Conservatives not sweating Homeland Security shutdown

The Hill reports:

Hard-line House GOP conservatives aren’t worried about a looming Department of Homeland Security shutdown as the deadline for congressional action draws near.

Many of the conservative lawmakers who most want to aggressively challenge President Obama's executive actions on immigration think that if push comes to shove, a shutdown will be worth the fight.

And at this point, they don't think there will be any electoral consequences if there is a shutdown.

"I'm just not that scared of sticking to principles and filling campaign promises that we made back home, irrespective of what leadership tells us to do here," said Rep. Curt Clawson (R-Fla.).

"It's worth having this fight," said Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.).

Gone are assurances from Republican lawmakers that there won't be a shutdown later this month.

Most DHS employees are considered "essential," meaning that workers like border patrol agents and Transportation Security Administration employees would remain on the job, albeit without pay. So in the eyes of some lawmakers, a DHS shutdown wouldn't have as much impact as the government-wide shutdown in 2013.

"The shutdown would be extremely limited. It would be only in one department, with only a small percentage of people in that one department. But again, nobody has a goal here of shutting anything down. The goal here is to get the president to get right with the Constitution that he swore an oath to uphold," said Rep. John Fleming (R-La.).

Just one department. Gee, how did America exist before a Department of Homeland Security?