Khanna urges Democrats to vote 'no' on stopgap bill over ICE funding
WASHINGTON, DC: On Sunday, February 1, Rep Ro Khanna (D-Calif) urged House Democrats to vote against a temporary measure aimed at reopening parts of the federal government. He argued that supporting the bill would be endorsing the recent actions of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“I’m a firm no, and I’m going to advocate with colleagues that they vote no,” Khanna said on NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press’. “I just don’t see how, in good conscience, Democrats can vote for continuing ICE funding when they’re killing American citizens.”
Partial shutdown enters second day
Several federal agencies began a partial government shutdown on Saturday, after the House of Representatives failed to take action on a Senate-passed agreement designed to prevent a lengthy funding lapse.
The delay occurred because House lawmakers were out of Washington when the shutdown deadline arrived. Unless there are unexpected setbacks, the House is anticipated to vote on legislation to reopen the government on Monday.
The shutdown currently affects the Departments of Homeland Security, Defense, State, Treasury, Transportation, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development.
DHS left out of long-term funding deal
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was excluded from the long-term funding agreement reached earlier this week between Donald Trump and Senate Democrats. The agreement provides funding for all affected agencies through September, except the DHS, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Under the Senate-passed bill, DHS will receive temporary funding for two weeks. This extension gives lawmakers time to address the concerns raised by Democrats regarding ICE. These concerns have intensified in recent weeks following incidents in which ICE officers fatally shot two US citizens, Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good, during encounters in Minneapolis.
Khanna: Split ICE funding from rest of government
Khanna said Democrats should push to separate ICE funding from broader government spending to allow most agencies to reopen without delay.
“We can bracket the ICE funding. We can open the remaining parts of the government,” he told moderator Kristen Welker. “There are a lot of other parts of the government that we can fund. The ICE issue should be separated.”
He added that Congress should not provide “an additional dollar to an agency that is patrolling the streets of not just immigrants, but American citizens.”
Republicans back bill despite slim margin
House Republicans are expected to vote in favor of the measure passed by the Senate, although the party’s majority has diminished in recent weeks due to the death of Rep Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif, and the resignation of Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene, D-Ga, last month.
Despite this, Speaker Mike Johnson, expressed confidence on Sunday that Republicans would pass the bill once lawmakers return to Washington.
“I’m confident that we’ll do it, at least by Tuesday,” Johnson said, pointing to party unity despite the razor-thin margin.
“One vote margin, yes, for the rest of 2026, but we’re going to demonstrate once again that this is the party that takes governing seriously,” he added.
