House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) blamed House Republicans for stalling a bipartisan Department of Homeland Security funding bill, arguing the impasse centers on GOP demands over Immigration and Customs Enforcement funding in the wake of the White House correspondents’ dinner shooting.
Jeffries stressed that DHS funding for the Secret Service, TSA, FEMA, and other agencies should be approved immediately.
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“There’s been a bipartisan bill sent over by the Senate, not once, but twice, that has been pending before the House of Representatives now for weeks,” Jeffries said on Fox News’s Fox News Sunday. “Every single Senate Republican, every single Senate Democrat, the president himself, as well as House Democrats, have all expressed support for that bipartisan bill.”
Jeffries said the legislation should be brought to the House floor immediately, but argued Republicans are holding it up over provisions related to ICE funding and immigration enforcement.
The funding standoff marks the longest partial government shutdown, fueling concerns over national security and agency pay.
“The exception is ICE and the mass deportation machine because that issue needs to be worked out separately,” he said. “I’m not sure why that bill hasn’t been brought to the floor of the House of Representatives. … It will pass on a strongly bipartisan basis so we can make sure that the Secret Service gets paid.”
His comments come as lawmakers face renewed scrutiny over federal security funding after the Saturday shooting that injured a Secret Service agent outside the White House correspondents’ dinner. Jeffries praised law enforcement’s response and called for national unity in condemning political violence.
“I think it’s important for us to agree to strongly disagree without being disagreeable with each other,” he said. “Violence is never the answer, whether it’s targeted at the Right, the Left, or the center.”
The funding dispute has become a flashpoint in Congress as DHS agencies warn of looming payroll disruptions if a deal is not reached. Jeffries said Democrats support separating ICE-related funding from broader DHS appropriations to ensure critical security operations remain funded.
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Jeffries emphasized that Democrats’ top priority, should they regain the House majority, would not be impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, but addressing cost-of-living concerns and public safety funding.
“Our top priority is going to be to drive down the high cost of living,” he said.
