Politics
Video: Joining “Chicago Tonight” are U.S. Reps. Danny Davis and Jonathan Jackson, both Democrats from Illinois. Republican members of the Illinois delegation did not respond to requests to appear on “Chicago Tonight.” (Produced by Joel Ortiz)
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump implored the House on Monday to end the partial government shutdown, but neither Republicans nor Democrats appeared ready to quickly approve the federal funding package he brokered with the Senate without first debating their own demands over immigration enforcement operations.
Democrats are refusing to provide the votes House Speaker Mike Johnson needs to push the package forward as they try to rein in the Trump administration’s deportation operations after the shooting deaths of two Americans in Minneapolis. That’s forcing Johnson to rely on his slim GOP majority, which has its own complaints about the package, to fall in line behind Trump’s deal with Senate Democrats.
Voting could begin as soon as Tuesday, which would be day four of the partial shutdown. The Pentagon, Homeland Security and other agencies saw their funding lapse Saturday. And while many operations at those departments are deemed essential, and still functioning, some workers may go without pay or be furloughed.
“We need to get the Government open, and I hope all Republicans and Democrats will join me in supporting this Bill, and send it to my desk WITHOUT DELAY,” the president wrote on social media.
“There can be NO CHANGES at this time,“ Trump insisted. ”We will work together in good faith to address the issues that have been raised, but we cannot have another long, pointless, and destructive Shutdown.”
The stalemate points to a difficult week ahead as Johnson relies on Trump to help muscle to package to passage.
The president struck a deal last week with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer in which Homeland Security would only be funded temporarily, though Feb. 13, as Congress debates changes to immigration enforcement operations. The Senate overwhelmingly approved the package with the rest of the government funding ahead of Saturday’s deadline.
Democrats Demand Changes to ICE
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries made it clear Monday that his side sees no reason to help Johnson push the bill forward in a procedural step, something that the majority party typically handles on its own.
With Johnson facing a revolt from his own Republican ranks, Jeffries is seizing the leverage it provides Democrats to demand changes to immigration operations.
“On rare occasions have we stepped in to deal with Republican dysfunction,” Jeffries said at the Capitol.
Democrats are demanding restraints on Immigration and Customs Enforcement that go beyond $20 million for body cameras that already is in the bill. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Monday that officers on the ground in Minneapolis, including ICE, will be immediately issued body-worn cameras, and the program would be expanded nationwide as funding is available.
But Democrats are pressing for more. They want to require that federal immigration agents unmask — noting that few, if any, other law enforcement agencies routinely mask themselves in the U.S. — and they want officers to rely on judicial, rather than administrative, warrants in their operations.
They also want an end to roving patrols, amid other changes.
Jeffries said the administration needs to begin negotiations now, not over the next two weeks, on changes to immigration enforcement operations.
Certain Democrats, however, are splintering with the leader, and pushing for quicker passage of the funding package to avoid government disruptions.
Illinois Democrats React: ‘We’re Not Going to Tolerate the Atrocities’
In an interview on WTTW News’ “Chicago Tonight” on Monday, U.S. Reps. Danny Davis and Johnathon Jackson, both Democrats from Illinois, said they remain laser-focused on ICE. Both are planning to withhold funding until considerable changes are made.
WTTW News invited Republicans in the Illinois delegation to appear on “Chicago Tonight” but received no response.
“It’s clear that the Republican administration in the House is about as inept as it can be,” Davis said. “… We’re not going to tolerate the atrocities that are being committed by ICE.”
Jackson referenced Keith Porter, who was killed by an off-duty ICE agent in Los Angeles on New Year’s Eve. Jackson said he believes the state of California should be investigating the killing as a murder.
“Each state has the right and the authority and the means by which to investigate local murders, local crimes,” Jackson said. “So this extrajudicial and this paramilitary force that’s marauding, coming into municipalities and killing people, we’re saying stop. So I will be a vote of no. We don’t need another two weeks. We don’t need to see another person killed with this lawless behavior from the ICE agents.”
After Noem announced plans to issue body-worn cameras, Davis said he remains skeptical of Noem’s intentions and whether her words hold any merit.
Davis said Noem should resign “and let somebody with a different approach, different attitude, a different level of understanding, be in charge of an agency with that much intensity and power.”
Jackson said ICE has enough funding to be considered the 10th largest military in the world, adding, “This is a domestic military force just for U.S. citizens.”
He said he remains concerned over ICE arrests made without judicial warrants, alluding to an internal memo that leaked earlier this year revealing ICE agents were being told to break into homes without warrants.
“This is not the gestapo of Europe,” Jackson said. “This is reminiscent — in this African American History Month — this is the slave patrol. You’re patrolling people’s bodies, their language, their movement. This is very American, and at the same time it’s very un-American to deny us our constitutional rights of freedom of assembly and freedom of speech.”
Republicans Launch Their Own Demands
House Republicans, with some allies in the Senate, are making their own demands, as they work to support Trump’s clampdown on immigrants in the U.S.
The House Freedom Caucus has insisted on fuller funding for Homeland Security while certain Republicans are pushing to include other measures, including the SAVE Act, a longshot Trump priority that would require proof of citizenship before Americans are eligible to participate in elections and vote.
Johnson and GOP leaders said they would be talking with lawmakers to see what it will take to win over support.
“Obviously the president really wants this,” Majority Leader Steve Scalise said at the Capitol.
“We always work ‘til the midnight hour to get the votes,“ Scalise said. ”You never start the process with everybody on board. You work through it.“
Workers Without Pay if Partial Government Shutdown Drags on
Meanwhile, a number of federal agencies are snared in the funding standoff after the government went into a partial shutdown over the weekend.
Defense, health, transportation and housing are among those that were given shutdown guidance by the administration, though many operations are deemed essential and services are not necessarily interrupted. Workers could go without pay if the impasse drags on. Some could be furloughed.
Lawmakers from both parties are increasingly concerned the closure will disrupt the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which they rely on to help constituents after deadly snowstorms and other disasters.
This is the second time in a matter of months that federal government operations have been disrupted as lawmakers use the annual funding process as leverage to extract policy changes. Last fall, Democrats sparked what became the longest federal shutdown in history, 43 days, as they protested the expiration of health insurance tax breaks.
That shutdown ended with a promise to vote on proposals to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. But with GOP opposition, Democrats were unable to achieve their goal of keeping the subsidies in place. Insurance premiums spiked in the new year for millions of people.
Trump Tries to Prevent Another Long Shutdown
Trump is already working on an immigration deal to ensure the shutdown doesn’t drag on.
Johnson said he was in the Oval Office last week when Trump, along with border czar Tom Homan, spoke with Schumer of New York as they discussed the immigration changes.
Body cameras, which are already provided for in the package, and an end to the roving patrols by immigration agents are areas of potential agreement, Johnson said.
But Johnson drew a line at other Democratic demands. He said he does not think that requiring immigration officers to remove their masks would have support from Republicans because it could lead to problems if their personal images and private information is posted online by protesters.
“I don’t think the president would approve it — and he shouldn’t,” Johnson said over the weekend on ”Fox News Sunday.”
And Senate Majority Leader John Thune tapped the brakes on the demand from Democrats to require judicial warrants for officers’ searches, saying it’s likely to be a part of the negotiations ahead.
“It’s going to be very difficult to reach agreement in two weeks,” Thune said at the Capitol.
Democrats, however, said the immigration operations are out of control, and must end in Minneapolis and other cities.
Growing numbers of lawmakers are also calling for Noem to be fired or impeached.
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