House moves to finish government funding as Democrats decry Homeland Security bill

WASHINGTON (AP) — The House will look to pass this year’s final tranche of spending bills on Thursday, an effort that is being complicated by Democratic lawmakers’ concerns that the measure funding the Department of Homeland Security inadequately addresses President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts.

The House has already passed eight of the 12 annual appropriations bills that fund federal agencies and programs. If the final four bills pass on Thursday, action would then move to the Senate, with final passage needed before a Jan. 30 deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown.

House Democratic leaders Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Rep. Katherine Clark of Massachusetts and Rep. Pete Aguilar of California announced in a closed-door meeting that they would oppose the Homeland Security bill. Their members are demanding a forceful stand in response to the Republican president’s immigration crackdown, most recently centered in the Minneapolis area, where more than 2,000 officers are stationed and where a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot Renee Good, a mother of three.

“There’s a very big concern about ICE being out of control,” said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the ranking Democratic lawmaker on the House Appropriations Committee.

But Democrats have few good options to express their opposition. DeLauro said that passing a continuing resolution to fund Homeland Security at current levels for the remainder of the budget year would cede spending decisions to Trump. There’s also little appetite for another shutdown, even if it would affect only a portion of the federal government.

“There is much more we must do to rein in DHS, which I will continue to press for. But the hard truth is that Democrats must win political power to enact the kind of accountability we need,” said Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee.

This year’s Homeland Security bill holds spending for ICE roughly flat from the prior year. It also restricts the ability of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to unilaterally shift funding and allocate federal dollars as she sees fit.

“It’s not everything we wanted. We wanted more oversight. But, look, Democrats don’t control the House. We don’t control the Senate or the White House. But we were able to add some oversight over Homeland,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, a member of the Appropriations panel. He said he intends to vote for the bill.

Democrats voice their concerns privately and publicly

But most Democrats who emerged from the closed-door caucus meeting on Wednesday had a different view.

“I never support lawless operations,” said Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio.

“If it’s the status quo, I’m a no,” said Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Ill.

DeLauro, along with Cuellar, made a presentation about the bill to House Democrats during their closed-door meeting. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., said she told her colleagues why she thought it was a mistake. Others who spoke up agreed, she said.

“I think this is just a really horrific time, and people understand what’s at stake,” Jayapal said. “We can’t treat this like it’s anything else. Our eyes are not lying to us.”

She explained that extra money for body cameras and other changes was insufficient. The bill provides $20 million that must be used for ICE and Customs and Border Protection officers when conducting enforcement actions.

She said she told her colleagues, “Nobody should try to sell this as an improvement. It’s not an improvement.”

But some Democrats in key swing districts will likely be seeing campaign ads targeting them if they vote against the Homeland Security funding bill. The campaign arm for House Republicans issued press releases on Wednesday targeting some 20 Democrats, saying they “will do anything to appease the ‘defund ICE’ crowd even if it means risking national security.”

Meanwhile, liberal advocacy groups are also applying pressure, saying Congress must take clear, immediate action to rein in the department.

“The DHS bill that was released clearly falls far short, and should be roundly rejected. Every Democrat should be voting against this funding bill, and Democratic leadership in both chambers should be actively whipping their caucus in opposition,” said Andrew O’Neill, national advocacy director for the group Indivisible.

Republicans are confident the bill will pass

Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was optimistic that the funding bills would pass, including the Homeland Security measure. He can afford a few defections given the GOP’s razor-thin majority.

“All we do is win,” Johnson said.

The overall funding package before the House on Thursday contains roughly $1.2 trillion in spending. About two-thirds of that will go to the Defense Department.

Other departments that are funded through the package include Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation and Housing and Urban Development. Most federal spending is unaffected by the yearly battles in Congress, most notably Social Security and Medicare.