If you thought that with all of the upheaval that Trump is causing, and with all the fucking bravery being demonstrated by Democratic constituents, the Washington pols might have felt emboldened to take action against ICE, which needs DHS funding to continue as they have?
You would be wrong. From the Bulwark:
Despite the fast-spreading outrage over the actions of DHS, many Senate Democrats aren’t eager to wage a fight over the department’s budget as part of this month’s funding fight.
I asked a number of Senate Democrats if increasing ICE funding is a red line for them in the upcoming budget negotiations. Most of the lawmakers I spoke with refrained from describing it in that way, opting instead to strongly criticize the agency without specifying what legislative action they might be willing to take to address the problems.
This is our winning strategy for taking back the House in November, by a bunch of feckless cowards and corrupt money grubbers who have no fucking idea what’s going on outside of their Beltway cocktail parties. It’s not just Schumer and Jefferies, although they both suck hard. Read on:
“I just think there are ways we can call out this behavior and the kind of level of disruption that’s taking place in city after city,” said Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). He mentioned reduced training requirements for ICE officers being a serious concern.
Or
“Well I certainly don’t wanna see funding increases,” Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) told me.
“We’re going through these negotiations right now. I don’t wanna see that funding [for ICE],” Kim added. “I don’t ever make predictions about where my vote’s coming down on, but what I will say is that I’m certainly gonna fight to stop it.”
Or
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) said she does not support increases to ICE’s budget, but offloaded much of the responsibility for whether that happens onto her GOP colleagues.
“Yeah, I would ask my Republican colleagues who are obviously taking the lead on these [appropriation bills],” she said. “Is this what they want to rubber stamp for residential neighborhoods across this country? Thousands of masked, armed agents coming into their communities?”
Or
And so, they’re treading gingerly, if not fearfully into this coming funding showdown. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Homeland Security—and one of the party’s most vocal critics of Trump’s authoritarian impulses—said discussions are taking place about the path forward on DHS funding and reform. But he stopped short of making any formal policy commitments.
The entire article is worth reading, if you have a strong stomach. Democrats from coast to coast are FUCKING FURIOUS!!!!!!!!!!! and want our elected representatives to FUCKING DO SOMETHING!!!
But, alas, they will do what they always do: capitulate, cower, wink to their benefactors and twist the knife ever deeper into our backs. Fucking assholes.
Dems are not powerless here. They can impede, delay, and call attention to the process. The House only needs a defector or two. Call your elected representatives before it’s too late.
