7 House Democrats break with Jeffries to pass DHS funding despite ICE backlash
Seven Democrats voted with Republicans on Thursday to pass a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spending bill, despite opposition from their own leadership over unmet demands for additional guardrails on...
By Fox News · Fox News
Seven Democrats voted with Republicans on Thursday to pass a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spending bill, despite opposition from their own leadership over unmet demands for additional guardrails on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations. The DHS bill will be bundled alongside three other spending bills, totaling a combined $1.2 trillion in federal spending. The entire package’s passing is a significant step toward averting a government shutdown come Jan. 30. Lawmakers in the House of Representatives voted on two separate packages on Thursday afternoon. One groups together three spending bills to fund the departments of War, Education, Labor, Transportation and Health and Human Services. The second is a standalone bill funding DHS, which includes ICE. ILHAN OMAR VOWS 'NOT TO GIVE ICE A SINGLE CENT' IN HEATED CONGRESSIONAL FUNDING FIGHT The DHS bill passed by a 220-207 vote with the help of seven Democrats. Only one Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., voted in opposition. The larger package passed with much broader bipartisan support in a 341-88 vote, with 149 Democrats joining Republicans to pass it. Most Democrats bucked the DHS funding legislation after House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and other top Democrats said they were opposed to the bill due to insufficient restrictions against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. With the legislation in the rearview mirror, the House advanced the last pieces of the puzzle needed to avoid a government shutdown by the end of the month. It’s also the first time in nearly 30 years that Congress has avoided funding the government through one massive spending bill known as an "omnibus" or through short-term incremental funding extensions called "continuing resolutions" (CRs). CONGRESS UNVEILS $1.2T SPENDING BILL AS PROGRESSIVE REVOLT BREWS OVER ICE FUNDING With the passage of Thursday’s package, lawmakers will have advanced four small bundles of two to three of their 12 annual ap…