House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY)
The partial government shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security has entered its second month, leaving Transportation Security Administration employees without paychecks as House and Senate leaders remain deadlocked over the future of federal immigration enforcement.
On Friday, the debate reached a boiling point during an interview on CNN’s “The Lead,” where guest host Phil Mattingly pointedly asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries if Democrats were using ICE policy as a mere negotiating vehicle.
Jeffries sidestepped a direct confirmation, instead pivoting to a sharp critique of previous Republican spending.
“ICE has a $75 billion slush fund that was part of the Republican ‘One Big Ugly‘ bill,” Jeffries told Mattingly, alleging that the funds were secured while Republicans simultaneously cut nutritional assistance for seniors and veterans.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries
He further accused the GOP of using TSA agents and travelers as leverage in the immigration debate, stating that House Democrats want to stop Republicans from “holding TSA agents and air travelers hostage to their extreme immigration policies.”
This friction stems from a Democratic filibuster of DHS funding intended to force new restrictions on ICE operations, a move influenced by recent fatal shootings in Minneapolis during anti-ICE protests.
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While the Democratic caucus has largely remained unified in withholding votes to secure these restrictions, Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman has broken ranks to become a vocal critic of the strategy. Fetterman, the only Democrat to back the full-year appropriations bill, expressed frustration over workers being forced to rely on food pantries.
“I was the only Democrat through this entire thing to refuse to shut our government down. This is wrong,” Fetterman told Greta Van Susteren, adding that while reforming ICE is a reasonable goal, it should not be tied to the immediate funding of the government.
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman
Fetterman even went as far as supporting an offer from Elon Musk to personally cover the salaries of unpaid TSA agents.
The legislative path forward remains murky as the House and Senate remain at odds over two competing visions. The Senate recently passed a plan to fund the DHS through September 30, but the bill pointedly excludes funding for ICE and Customs and Border Protection.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune suggested that Republicans would address those specific agencies later through reconciliation. Speaker Mike Johnson dismissed the Senate’s proposal as a “joke” due to its lack of border security funding.
In response, Johnson advanced an eight-week stopgap bill that fully funds the DHS, including ICE and CBP, which passed the House Friday night in a 213-203 vote.
Three Democrats—Reps. Don Davis, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, and Henry Cuellar—joined Republicans in support, but Senate Democrats have already signaled they will block the measure, leaving thousands of federal workers in continued financial limbo.
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