❓WHAT HAPPENED: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) announced a decision to vote against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations bill.
👤WHO WAS INVOLVED: Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark, Rep. Enrique “Henry” Cuellar (D-TX), and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT).
📍WHEN & WHERE: The decision was made on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, in a closed-door meeting of House Democrats.
💬KEY QUOTE: “I signed off. Let’s go. Let’s move. And people will decide what they want to.” – Rep. Rosa DeLauro.
🎯IMPACT: The bill is expected to pass despite some Democratic opposition, with a group of moderate lawmakers expected to support it.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA) informed Democrats in a private meeting that they intend to vote against a bill funding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The move is largely seen as an attempt by Democrat leaders to placate a large bloc of their more progressive caucus members who are demanding the agency be defunded over ongoing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations targeting illegal immigrants across the country.
Despite their stated opposition, the Democratic leaders are not expected to actively whip against the bill. While a bulk of Democrats are anticipated to oppose the appropriations measure, it is expected that a small group of moderate Democrats will still support it. More radical progressive House Democrats have demanded the party oppose the DHS funding bill, ramping up their calls for resistance after anti-ICE activist Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot while attempting to run over an ICE agent in Minneapolis.
Rep. Enrique “Henry” Cuellar (D-TX), a key minority member on the Homeland Security Appropriations subcommittee, has called for his colleagues to support the bill, highlighting several Democrat victories within it. These include $20 million allocated for body cameras for ICE personnel, although the overall ICE budget remains unchanged.
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), who helped negotiate the broader spending package, emphasized the urgency of passing the bill to prevent a government shutdown. While acknowledging the bill’s limitations in securing the progressive Democrat demands for substantial ICE reforms, she noted its benefits for other agencies like TSA and FEMA.
DeLauro explained the need to move forward despite the bill’s imperfections, saying, “I signed off. Let’s go. Let’s move. And people will decide what they want to.”
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