Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy asked on Sunday whether Democrats were waiting for Americans to die before they would be willing to take action to ensure national security.

Duffy joined host Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures” on Fox Business Channel, and he specifically questioned the recent flip-flop from Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) — who repeatedly voted against funding the Department of Homeland Security only to demand that Congress fund DHS when a terror attack rocked her home state.

WATCH:

Are Democrats waiting for Americans to get hurt or killed before they make YOUR security a top priority?@SenatorSlotkin voted EVERY TIME against funding @DHS. And now that an attacker tried to kill Jews at a synagogue in her home state of Michigan, she’s ready to fund Homeland… pic.twitter.com/YyDhOlydAO

— Secretary Sean Duffy (@SecDuffy) March 15, 2026

“Look at Senator Slotkin from Michigan, where there was a synagogue attack,” Duffy began. “She voted every time against funding DHS, and once the threat to her community was real, from radicals, now she says let’s open up DHS.”

“I think that begs the question, are Democrats to get hurt, to get killed before they actually put your security before those who have come to this country unlawfully and illegally?” Duffy asked. “I hope that’s not their position, but we can get to a better place if they would just come to their senses and negotiate after they open it up.”

Slotkin called for DHS to be funded in the wake of the attack on Temple Israel, during which armed security guards were able to thwart an attacker who crashed his vehicle into the building, armed with a rifle. She had voted with her party against fully funding the Department of Homeland Security, prolonging the partial government shutdown.

The partial shutdown, largely driven by Democrat criticisms of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), does not actually impact the funding already carved out for ICE but has cut off pay for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), the United States Coast Guard, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), among others.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN. Mike Waltz said on Sunday that he did not believe President Donald Trump was likely to take any options off the table with regard to the ongoing military action in Iran — even options that could compromise oil production in the region.

Waltz, a Green Beret veteran, addressed recent attacks on Iran’s “crown jewel” — Kharg Island — and said that while the initial attacks specifically targeted military assets, he did not believe Trump would rule out the possibility of strikes that damaged the regime’s oil infrastructure.

WATCH:

TAPPER: Is President Trump prepared to target those oil facilities on Kharg Island?
UN AMB. MIKE WALTZ: “Well President Trump’s not going to take any options off the table… I would certainly think he would maintain that optionality if he wants to take down their energy… pic.twitter.com/EIonYFHELY

— State of the Union (@CNNSOTU) March 15, 2026

Tapper noted that Kharg Island was Iran’s “key oil hub” — and that the attacks thus far had been limited to solely military targets — but turned to Waltz and asked, “Iran says oil production on the island is proceeding normally. If Iran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, is President Trump prepared to target those oil facilities — which, as you know, handle 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports — and if so, are you worried that could risk even more of an escalation when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz?”

“Well President Trump’s not going to take any options off the table, Jake, and he pointed out in his Truth [post] when he announced the military infrastructure strikes on Kharg, which by the way they used to project their fast boats, drones, and other types of attacks into the Gulf, that he deliberately hit the military infrastructure only — for now,” Waltz replied.

“I would certainly think he would maintain that optionality if he wants to take down their energy infrastructure,” he added. Waltz went on to say that an unrestrained Iran had been using those military assets to put a stranglehold on shipping — whether of oil or other goods — from other countries, and that those efforts would only redouble and get more dangerous for all involved if Iran had been allowed to obtain nuclear capabilities.

Trump said late on Friday, after ordering the strikes on Kharg Island, that his intention was to only hit military targets unless Iran continued to wreak havoc on any ships attempting to travel through the Strait of Hormuz.