### House Dems Grumble Again as Senate Strikes Spending Deal with Trump
For the third time in less than a year, House Democrats are feeling sidelined and are not happy about it. This time, President Trump and Senate Democrats have struck a deal to keep most federal agencies funded and avoid a shutdown, but it seems House Democrats are still getting the short end of the stick.
The plan will keep funding flowing for most agencies until September, but it only gives the Department of Homeland Security a temporary lifeline through February 13. Naturally, House Democrats, who are none too pleased with Trump’s immigration policies, think that’s still too much time for DHS to do its thing.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal from Washington summed it up nicely when she said that some Senate Democrats are too timid, leaving House members to deal with the fallout. Rep. Veronica Escobar from Texas chimed in, saying that House members, who deal with immigration issues directly in their districts, need to be involved in these negotiations.
This isn’t the first time House Democrats have voiced their frustrations. Tempers flared back in March when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and a few Senate Democrats allowed a funding package to go through, and again in November when Senate Democrats joined Republicans to end a 43-day shutdown.
Now, they’re caught in a mess involving $1.2 trillion in spending that most Democrats actually support—except for the troublesome DHS funding, especially after the recent deaths of two U.S. citizens at the hands of federal agents in Minneapolis. After that tragedy, Senate Democrats pulled the brakes on full funding for DHS.
House Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar admitted that House Democrats weren’t really in the loop about the Trump-Schumer deal, but he wasn’t surprised. The Senate vote was also a shock to him, and now they’re all left wondering what’s next.
The spending package is set to hit the House floor, but there’s no guarantee Republicans will stick together for a key vote. Speaker Mike Johnson is feeling the heat as his own party is split over how to handle this temporary DHS funding. He even suggested a fast-track process that would require a two-thirds majority, meaning he’d need a lot of Democrat support—at least 70 votes. Good luck with that!
Democratic leaders were caught off guard by Johnson’s confidence, and Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries made it clear that they wouldn’t commit to helping him out. Johnson accused Democrats of “playing games” with the funding package, which is a convenient distraction from the real issue: the growing rift between House and Senate Democrats.
Jeffries insists there’s no rift and that both sides are on the same page regarding ICE reform. Yet, he’s previously opposed full DHS funding and is now mum about how he’ll vote on this latest bill.
Schumer has been in talks with Jeffries, but it’s clear there’s no consensus. Some Democrats are ready to back the bill while others are totally against it. Rep. Jim McGovern from Massachusetts is not holding back, saying he can’t support a bill that allows government agents to violate people’s rights.
With all this chaos, it seems like House Democrats are stuck in a perpetual blame game, pointing fingers at the Senate for their woes. As Aguilar put it, “People always complain about the other chamber,” so this is just par for the course.
So, here we are again: House Democrats in a tizzy while Senate leaders play their games. Just another day in D.C., right?
