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Republicans eye opening for DHS deal this week as Democrats double down Senate | 16 minutes ago

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This week on The Hill: Trump to deliver high-stakes State of the Union address

President Trump is gearing up to deliver his first State of the Union address of his second term to members of Congress on Tuesday, where he is expected to outline his administration’s priorities and legislative agenda for the year ahead.

Trump’s speech comes as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is shut down amid a standoff between the White House and Democrats over immigration reforms, fueled in part by the deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota at the hands of immigration agents.

And many Democrats are plotting a range of actions to signal their opposition to the president, including inviting guests affected by Trump’s policies, preparing to walk out during the speech, attending counter-rallies or skipping the address altogether.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) told reporters last week he’s advising members of his caucus to choose one of two approaches to Trump’s visit: either attend the event with “silent defiance” or participate in “different alternate programming that is going to take place in and around the Capitol complex.”

Jeffries is hoping to avoid some of the drama that ensued last year during Trump’s speech in March, when Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) stood up to assert that the president had no mandate and raised his walking cane in Trump’s direction.

Asked if he will attend Trump’s State of the Union address, Jeffries was adamant. 

“My current plan is to attend. We’re not going to Donald Trump’s house. He’s coming to our house. It’s my view that you don’t let anyone, ever, run you off of your block,” he said. 

What else you can expect this week:

DHS standoff continues: The White House and Senate Democrats remain at an impasse over funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), with both sides rejecting the other’s counterproposals. Talks are expected to continue this week.

GOP members eye discharge petition on Russian sanctions: Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) told The Hill he and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) are considering bringing forth a discharge petition as early as this week to force a vote on Fitzpatrick’s Peace Through Strength Against Russia Act of 2025.

Democrats push for censure vote for Randy Fine: Democrats are looking to call up a censure vote after Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) posted on social media that he would choose dogs over Muslims. 

Clinton deposition: Former President Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will testify as part of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee’s investigation into late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein on Feb. 26 and Feb. 27.

Some Democrats to boycott Trump’s address

Several Democrats are opting to skip Trump’s speech and instead attend a counter rally dubbed the “People’s State of the Union,” which will be held at 8:30 p.m. on the National Mall. The rally, featuring “everyday Americans most impacted by Trump’s dangerous agenda,” is hosted by liberal group MoveOn Civic Action, progressive media company MeidasTouch and other coalition partners.

Attendees of the event include Sens. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), as well as Reps. Yassamin Ansari (D-Ariz.), Becca Balint (D-Vt.), Greg Casar (D-Texas), Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.) Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) and John Larson (D-Conn.). 

“Next week, Trump will deliver his State of the Union address. I won’t be there. Trump is marching America towards fascism, and I refuse to normalize his shredding of our Constitution & democracy. This cannot be business as usual,” Van Hollen wrote on X last week.

Other Democratic members of Congress are also opting to skip this year’s event, including Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Rep. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-Calif.) and Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.).

Republicans, however, have criticized Democrats for skipping the address.

“The president is absolute right to give this speech. He didn’t cause this shut down, and I’m embarrassed that my Democratic colleagues are refusing to attend this important constitutional event,” Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) said in an emailed statement.

Rep. Mike Flood (R-Neb.) told The Hill that it’s “an unfortunate development that this counter programming is happening.”

“As a member of Congress, I owe it to all of my constituents to not only be present, but to be paying attention. You know, I represent Republicans and Democrats. I represent independents. I represent butchers and farmers and bankers and business people and teachers, and regardless of their political positions, I have to do my best to be their advocate. And if I’m off…running around trying to convince somebody that my ideas are better and not listening to the president of the United States, I don’t know how that reconciles with the people that I represent,” he said.

DHS shutdown enters second week

Discussions between the White House and Democratic leaders on how to fund DHS appear to be stalled, as administration officials slam the minority party for refusing to make concessions and Democrats double down on their demands.

Senate Democrats sent their latest proposal to the White House last, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called the offer “unserious.”

The latest offer also prompted the White House to release a statement saying the two parties are “still pretty far apart” in negotiations.

And Democrats show no signs of letting up on their demands to reform Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 

“It is our view that immigration enforcement in this country should be fair, it should be just and it should be humane,” Jeffries told reporters last week. “That’s not what’s happening now in the United States of America, and that’s why ICE needs to be reformed in a dramatic, bold, meaningful and transformational manner.”

“And if that doesn’t happen, the DHS funding bill will not move forward,” he added.

White House deputy chief of staff James Blair, meanwhile, accused Democrats of “grandstanding” in a TV appearance last week.

“They’re saying right now, ‘OK, we’re going to close DHS until you basically stop enforcing immigration law in this country.’ We’re not going to do that,” he said. 

Bacon ready to back discharge petition on Russian sanctions bill 

Bacon and Fitzpatrick could bring a discharge petition on a Russian sanctions bill this week, in what would be a blow to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.).

The petition would require 218 signatures to succeed, meaning it would need support from at least some Republicans. Bacon last week said he’s prepared to be one of them.

“Well, it’s going to be Fitzpatrick doing it, but I’m gonna support it, and so he should probably speak on it, but that’s our plan — was to put this as a discharge. It’s going to take a little while to get 218 signatures,” Bacon said. 

Fitzpatrick had introduced a bill in mid-December, along with House Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and other colleagues, that would “impose sanctions and other measures with respect to the Russian Federation if the Government of the Russian Federation refuses to negotiate a peace agreement with Ukraine, violates any such agreement, or initiates another military invasion of Ukraine, and for other purposes.”

Fitzpatrick introduced a resolution last week to potentially fast-track consideration of the bill. The Hill has reached out to Fitzpatrick’s office for further details on whether he will bring forth a discharge petition.

Bacon added that he’s been in contact with senior GOP leaders and the White House, who he said are inclined to bring the bill to the floor for a vote without going through the discharge petition process. 

Democrats call for Fine to be censured

Several Democrats have called for Fine to be formally reprimanded after he posted on X that he would choose dogs over Muslims. 

Axios reported last week that two members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus said the group is discussing possibly forcing a censure vote, which could come as early as this week.

A censure is a formal reprimand by a vote of the House that often comes with consequences such as being stripped of committee assignments. Any member can force a snap vote on a censure resolution over the objections of GOP leadership.

Jeffries said in a statement that Republican leaders “must hold this so-called Member of Congress accountable.”

“Political violence, xenophobia and hate crimes against the Muslim community are on the rise. House Democrats will not let the racist and bigoted behavior of Randy Fine go unchecked,” Jeffries said. “Accountability is coming to all of these sick extremists when the gavels change hands in November, if not sooner.”

Clintons to be deposed by House Oversight Committee

Both Clintons will be deposed by the House Oversight Committee as part of the panel’s investigation into Epstein. Their depositions will take place in New York.

They agreed to testify as the House prepared to hold a vote on holding them in Contempt of Congress. The House Oversight Committee voted last month to advance the contempt resolutions, which leaders have opted to put on hold.

Hillary Clinton told the BBC she never met Epstein, but she met his convicted associate Ghislaine Maxwell on a “few occasions.”

Bill Clinton was featured in the Epstein files but he has denied any wrongdoing. The former president’s name appeared in flight logs from 2002 and 2003, documenting the former president’s travel with Epstein to Thailand, Brunei, Rwanda, Russia and China. The trips were taken prior to Epstein’s 2008 conviction of soliciting and procuring a girl for prostitution.

House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) told Fox News that the Clintons’ depositions “is critical to understanding Epstein and (Ghislaine Maxwell’s) sex trafficking network and the ways they sought to curry favor and influence to shield themselves from scrutiny.”

“Their testimony may also inform how Congress can strengthen laws to better combat human trafficking. Our goal for this investigation is straightforward: we seek to deliver transparency and accountability for the American people and for survivors.” he said. 

Emily Brooks and Al Weaver contributed to this report.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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