Democrats whip against DHS funding bill despite GOP pressure on Iran

Top Democrats are whipping against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) funding bill expected to come to the floor this week, even as Republicans press them to support it in the wake of the U.S. attacks on Iran. 

The White House and Democrats have been locked in an impasse over a deal to reopen DHS, as the minority party calls for the administration to overhaul Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) following the killings of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota by federal agents. 

But Democrats argue President Trump’s decision to strike Iran does not absolve the administration from addressing concerns over its immigration policies. 

“Donald Trump launches an unauthorized war in the Middle East. He characterizes it as endless. He decides that he wants to spend billions of dollars to bomb Iran, rather than spend taxpayer dollars to lower the grocery bills that are crushing the American people,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said during a press conference on Tuesday.

“And then wants to use his unauthorized war as an excuse to continue spending taxpayer dollars to brutalize or kill American citizens by continuing to unleash ICE without restrictions on the American people. The whole thing is insane. Make it make sense, because it does not,” Jeffries added. 

Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, told The Hill in an interview that the GOP calls to pass the DHS bill are “political theater” and a “smokescreen.”

“My Republican colleagues and the administration want to defend – they want to defend a lawless, reckless agency that is creating havoc on the streets of America… And they shouldn’t do that. They should not get away with this. And you know what? I’m tired of their crocodile tears,” DeLauro said. 

She added that the White House has not been “serious” about negotiations.

The bill Republicans plan to bring to the floor this week is largely the same as the one that passed the lower chamber in January, before the killing of 37-year-old Minneapolis nurse Alex Pretti sparked outrage among Democrats and intensified calls to rein in ICE.

The House Rules Committee advanced it on a party-line vote Tuesday. 

A whip notice shared with Politico urges House Democrats to vote against the bill, arguing it contains “no new language to end the chaos caused by ICE in communities across the country.” 

“LET THE RECORD SHOW: Democrats are INSTRUCTING their members to keep the Department of Homeland Security CLOSED, and to prolong the Democrat DHS shutdown,” Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) wrote on the social platform X, referencing the whip notice.

“At a moment when America faces increasing threats at home and abroad, Democrats are voting to keep Americans dangerously exposed to domestic terrorism — all so they can make a crazy political point in defense of criminal illegal aliens. That is a shameful abandonment of duty and a stunning failure of leadership,” Johnson said. 

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-La.) wrote on X, “Now is NOT the time for Democrats to play political games and keep DHS shut down to appease their radical far-left base.”

But Democrats appear unmoved by the GOP calls. 

“Donald Trump and Kristi Noem have undermined, mismanaged, and weaponized the Department of Homeland Security for more than a year, pulling the Department from its mission to defend the homeland and turning it against the American people,” Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, said in a statement.  “Now, with Trump recklessly launching an unnecessary war, Americans face increased threats from both foreign actors and their own government. Congressional Republicans should be prioritizing national security and the rights of Americans over covering for the President’s lawless immigration operations and out-of-control DHS.”

During a House Rules Committee hearing on Tuesday, ranking member Jim McGovern (D-Mass) said that he won’t give another penny to ICE or Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

“Republicans are re-passing a bill that they already passed a couple of weeks ago. It’s a disgrace,” McGovern said. “Come back when you have a plan to rein in the lawlessness of ICE and CBP, then we can talk. Until then, we’re not going to rubber-stamp more money for agencies that defy judges and violate court orders while this president makes America less safe by the hour with his new forever war.”

DeLauro urged Republicans on the panel to take up her bill she introduced in February that would fund every agency under the DHS except ICE, CBP and the Office of the Secretary. 

There may be some Democrats who will break ranks from their party to support the bill. Seven Democrats joined Republicans to vote for the DHS bill in January, before Pretti was killed: Reps. Henry Cuellar (Texas), Don Davis (N.C.), Laura Gillen (N.Y.), Jared Golden (Maine), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.) and Tom Suozzi (N.Y.).

But the bill will likely be dead on arrival in the Senate, where it will need some Democratic support to overcome a filibuster. Senate Democrats blocked the previous House-passed DHS funding bill last week. Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.) has been the lone Democrat in voting to advance a full-year DHS funding bill.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.)  wrote on X that, “With an enhanced terror threat from Iran and Iran-funded terrorist groups, we must ensure the Department of Homeland Security is fully funded.”

“I hope my Democrat colleagues will finally decide to come to the table and bring their second shutdown in under six months to a close,” he wrote. 

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