Trump PITS Democrats Against Themselves

Senate Democrats threaten a government shutdown over DHS funding, risking harm to American families and security just as President Trump ramps up border enforcement.

Story Snapshot

House passes $1.2 trillion funding package including $64 billion for DHS and $10 billion for ICE with support from seven Democrats, bundling it to pressure Senate action.
Minnesota ICE shootings fuel Democratic demands for oversight, but compromises include body cameras and reduced enforcement funding amid Trump priorities.
ICE shielded by $75 billion prior allocation, but shutdown would furlough TSA, FEMA, and Coast Guard workers ahead of January 30 deadline.
Democratic divisions exposed: moderates cross aisle for constituents, while leadership opposes to rein in ICE post-incidents.

House Advances Funding Amid Democratic Defections

On January 23, 2026, the House approved a $1.2 trillion spending package that funds the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) at $64 billion, including $10 billion for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Seven House Democrats—Henry Cuellar and Vicente Gonzalez of Texas, Jared Golden of Maine, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Don Davis of North Carolina, Laura Gillen, and Tom Suozzi of New York—joined Republicans to pass the bill. This bundling with Pentagon, Labor-HHS-Education funding sets up Senate debate after recess. House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole called it a “good, solid bill” with added professionalism measures like training.

Minnesota Incidents Ignite ICE Funding Battle

Early January 2026 shootings in Minnesota—an ICE agent killing U.S. citizen Renée Good and an ICE officer shooting an undocumented man—intensified Democratic criticism of Trump-era interior enforcement. House Democratic Leadership under Hakeem Jeffries expressed overwhelming caucus dissatisfaction, demanding guardrails against citizen detentions. The bill responds with $20 million for body cameras and $115 million cut to ICE enforcement, plus reductions of 5,500 detention beds and $1.8 billion from Border Patrol. Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro critiqued the cuts as insufficient for broader reforms while warning shutdowns hurt non-ICE agencies hardest.

Trump Priorities Face Compromise Pressures

President Trump’s administration pushes maximum DHS and ICE resources to sustain deportation goals, insulated by $75 billion from the 2025 “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Yet the House rejected conservative amendments from Republicans like Ralph Norman and Thomas Massie to eliminate earmarks and mandates. Bundling leverages Democratic reliance on military and domestic funding, exposing fractures between moderate Democrats prioritizing border-state constituents and progressives echoing past defund-ICE calls. This dynamic bolsters GOP leverage on security while limiting full enforcement expansion.

Senate Democrats signal opposition to the package, potentially breaking a pre-January bipartisan spending truce and risking a January 30 shutdown. Such chaos would furlough essential workers at TSA, FEMA, and Coast Guard, delaying disaster aid and straining families already burdened by past inflation. ICE operations continue uninterrupted, protecting American communities from interior threats. Long-term, the bill sets a fiscal year 2026 baseline with oversight that tempers Trump’s goals, including economic boosts like $4.6 billion for community health. Political fallout highlights Democratic overreach, validating conservative demands for controlled immigration and fiscal responsibility.

Shutdown Risks Undermine National Security

A potential lapse furloughs federal workers, disrupts transportation, and delays aid, echoing past Democratic tactics that prioritized open borders over stability. Bundling forces compromise, as Pentagon funding outweighs ICE objections per appropriations experts. This exposes leftist resistance to Trump’s successful enforcement—over 605,000 deportations and 1.9 million self-deportations in 2025—restoring sovereignty and negative net migration. Conservatives see victory in House passage, but Senate remains the battleground for American priorities like family safety and limited government.