A "tough" vote to fund DHS and ICE gives Democrats heartburn
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House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks at a tribute to Martin Luther King, Jr., at the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Jan. 19. Photo: Natasha Moustache/Getty Images
House Democrats are struggling with how to vote on a bill funding the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of the shooting of Renee Good by ICE officers earlier this month.
Why it matters: Democrats largely agree that the bill doesn't go far enough in constraining ICE and Customs and Border Patrol officers, but some in the party still feel compelled to vote to fund the department as a whole.
- "It's going to be a tough vote for everyone," said Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.), who represents battleground-district House Democrats in leadership, telling Axios she is personally undecided.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) isn't offering any guidance so far, telling Axios: "We're having a conversation about it in the caucus meeting tomorrow."
State of play: The House is set to vote this week on a package of appropriations bills that would fund the departments of Defense, Health and Human Services, Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Labor, along with DHS.
- The bills would effectively head off a partial government shutdown through September, which would offer Congress substantial breathing room as it heads into the 2026 midterms.
- The package was negotiated by top lawmakers in both parties, but the DHS bill — which is expected to be voted on separately — is already garnering vocal opposition from some corners of the House Democratic caucus.
What they're saying: "The whole fact that they separated it out is because they know that so many of us have huge concerns about this," Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told Axios.
- Jayapal announced her opposition in a statement, saying that while the bill includes new oversight measures for immigration agents and funding for body cameras and inspections, it "simply does not meet the moment."
- Several other prominent progressives, including Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), said they are opposing the bill for similar reasons.
The intrigue: It's not just progressives. "I'm incredibly concerned that the agencies are so unresponsive, and ... these agencies are not in charge of themselves and Trump's not king," said Rep. Adam Gray (D-Calif.).
- Gray, who represents a swing district and is a member of the centrist Blue Dog Coalition, told Axios that "people either start responding to things, or it forces Congress' hand to vote 'no' just to heel these folks."
- "So I could see voting against it for that reason," he said, but "as far as the funding for DHS I'm generally supportive of that stuff. So I could go either way right now."
Yes, but: Another centrist House Democrat, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Axios there will "be some members for" the DHS funding bill even as the "overwhelming majority" of Democrats are expected to oppose it.
- Lawmakers want to "send a signal to Trump" and "put some guardrails," on the one hand, the member said, but centrists also need to stay "strong in supporting border security and law enforcement."
- "You'll get a bunch of frontliners supporting it," the Democrat predicted.
The bottom line: "We're just going through it. I'm on page 12 of 1,000," House Democratic caucus chair Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.) told Axios when asked if leadership will back the bill.
