This is something JVL said last year and is something Democrats demonstrate time and time again: These guys have no clue what time it is. They operate as if it’s still 2004 and they’re dealing with a president with whom they have strong policy disagreements rather than a potential autocrat whose ultimate goal is to kill them all.
This piece is disingenuous. They are meeting to discuss funding and appropriations. The Democrats main concern is Health Care funding.
The money for DHS was already appropriated. Why discuss more funding for DHS? That's what this meeting is about new appropriations. Healthcare funding is number one.
Booker states in the article that there should be restrictions on ICE, but that's part of a different but ongoing debate.
I also feel like shutting down the government over healthcare brought a discussion about healthcare to the forefront when no such discussion was previously taking place. Right now ICE is front page everywhere, everyone is already talking about it, so I don't think there's nearly the same urgent need to highlight it like there was with healthcare months ago.
Trump and the GOP are absolutely not going to cave to demands on reigning in ICE, so the Dems need to have a goal in mind if they're going to enact another shutdown over it. What's the end goal and the off ramp? Just keeping everything shut down for the rest of the year is not realistic, so at what point do the Dems cave on this if they shut everything down? Just getting people talking about ICE isn't enough, since that's already happening anyway.
I think there's a very real risk in shutting down the government this time with no plan in mind other than just voicing frustration. It runs the risk of changing the conversation from Trump's ICE overreach to "Dems keeping thousands of people without paychecks for a political stunt." You can't just assume you'll win every government shutdown fight in the court of public opinion just because you won the last one.
You are 100% correct. Conservative reporting loves to put the blame on Democrats for not reigning the Republicans. Its like blaming moms for misbehaving children.
But…..the polling says people like on-camera extrajudicial murder of ‘anarchists’ And ‘anti Christian fornicators’. And they’d rather keep the murders and get their health care for less $$$$. So, whaddaya gonna do? The people have spoken. And if I ignore all those people who’ll never vote for me anyway, I might not get to stay here in DC and continue my good works for the people!
One of the most infuriating things this past year has been discovering in real time how few people really have a durable set of beliefs. "Democrats don't want to make an issue of DHS because they poll better on healthcare" makes it indisputable that the party needs to be cleared out and replaced from the top down if we have any hope of making it out alive
Healthcare is much more important to people who need Healthcare assistance. It may not be important to us or the Bulwark team, but to a family with limited means who need health care, its life or death.
Reigning in ICE is a whole different discussion and the writers of this article know it.
It's possible to address multiple things at the same time. The fact that DHS is actively terrorizing and attempting to militarily occupy Americans cities is as critical as healthcare. Democrats have the ability to withhold support under the condition that regulations are added to DHS funding. I made no comment on the writer of this article. I was commenting on the behavior of Congressional Democrats. The reporting here is consistent with other reporting on the topic.
On Tuesday, the Congressional Progressive Caucus officially announced that its members will oppose any proposed funding for immigration enforcement in the DHS spending bill, or any others, until changes to enforcement practices carried out by ICE are enacted.
If they don’t fight this spending on DHS and the ICE Gestapo then I’m done with the Democrats. There is not one set of balls in the Dems on the hill. We need to start speaking to, and organizing, Independents (which is what I am).
I am not done but i will give no money to any democrat who doesn’t fight for this. I also want Schumer to resign his post and I vote for Corey Booker to replace him!
You go to war with the army that you have, not the one you want. Organizing independents has been tried many times and failed. A big reason why is that the basic structure of American governance heavily privileges the two major parties. So if you want to have an impact, you're going to need to pick a party.
I pick the Democrats -- and would suggest that there is more political courage in our congressional delegation than you give them credit for.
I've been thinking that the verifiers? The people out on the street night in night out? These groups (I'm in one) are getting more and more organized. And they should start primarying these fossilized losers.
Disarm ICE. They should be strictly limited to non-lethal rounds. After all they are basically tasked with logistics ops. If they need protection from dangerous thugs during a deportation they can ask local PD to assist.
I think it's a mistake to not join this fight on DHS and ICE.
But even if they don't shut it down over that, they have multiple winning issues to force: (1) healthcare, which the senate can force the bill that has now passed the House as a shutdown, and (2) the Epstein files, which DOJ is sitting on, and they can pass a law making sure there is enforcement against Bondi and DOJ, (3) war powers. These are all areas where the Democratic caucus is on the same page, and they enjoy the support of the American people.
If they actually care about healthcare, score a win. They can still campaign on healthcare in 2026 even if they manage to extend the Obamacare subsidies. On Epstein, the public is like 80%-20% and they can force it back into the spotlight, which will be great for 2026. On war powers, no one wants us to invade Greenland. It should be extremely easy to shut the government down in favor of a resolution making it 100% clear Trump cannot attack Greenland.
The idea that they'd roll over when ICE is destroying US cities, Trump is covering up the crimes of Epstein and associates, and Trump is threatening to implode NATO and take us back 100 years to imperialist and colonialist policy, my god.
"Next steps on Greenland could come as soon as a few 'weeks,' a US official tells USA TODAY in an exclusive interview...President Donald Trump's desire to annex Greenland will not be thwarted and there could be meaningful U.S. action related to the Arctic island within 'weeks or months,' according to a senior administration official."
"A House Republican on Monday introduced legislation that would give President Trump the authority to annex Greenland and turn it into a U.S. state. Why it matters: The bill is an extreme long-shot, but it serves as a stark display of Republicans' eagerness to prove their loyalty to the president as he muses publicly about acquiring the island territory by force. Lawmakers in both parties have brushed off the notion of invading Greenland and sovereign countries like Mexico and Colombia, but Trump has continued to hammer the idea. An invasion of Greenland, which is an overseas territory of Denmark, could trigger a NATO response under Article 5 of the organization's charter. Driving the news: Rep. Randy Fine, a staunch Trump loyalist from Florida, introduced the two-page bill, called the Greenland Annexation and Statehood Act."
Dems out of touch. That's like saying a nuclear blast is warm. They don't have the first clue about the level of rage among their beloved constituents.
In sounds to me that you are a man of exceptional vision, political fortitude and connection to the people. When are you going to run for office and show the Democrats how it should be done?
Lovely, but your snark is a little mis-aimed. I'm not a Democrat, I'm an apostate RINO. And I'm very aware how mad y'all get when we gratuitously lecture you on effective politics. But my presence here, on the same side of the barricades as you, is a fact that will remain in place for the duration. We can shit on each other later, but we've all got more fish on the grill for the moment.
I love your attitude, George! And contrary to my lame-assed tribe members, I think we could learn a lot from Republicans. If only that engrained smugness and superiority complex didn't keep kicking and belching, polluting the air until everybody is gagging and going home, again, without having accomplished much in this circular firing squad thus created. We have so much more in common than not. We keep letting them divide us, and unfortunately, the Ds aren't any more astute in figuring out how we're being manipulated than the Rs. So much for superiority.
"DHS funding, period, is a red line for me until they start answering Congress’s questions,” Booker said. “I’ve sent questions about training and professional standards to them for months now, and they haven’t even responded. So if they’re not in compliance with simple oversight questions, why should they get their resources? They have to answer to Congress.”
Come on, Cory, go for the jugular, the federal and state background checks for these madmen with automatic weapons who have no sense of shame or anything other than cuffing, carting off to non-overseen detention facilities, and even killing the Felon's opponents.
How many of them are pardoned J6ers who were properly and legally convicted of federal offenses, or their Oath Keeping, Proud Boy buddies who were there but got away? I bet dollars to donuts that those stats do not exist, not because they have been destroyed, but because they were never collected in the first place. The Felon bought their loyalty with his pardons and they are paying him back in spades.
And much to the consternation of the Democratic leadership, as quasi-federal employees, they get healthcare! So, not very likely to be swayed to the D’s as they continue the battle for just enough healthcare to survive long enough for ICE to expand the scope of their detainment imprimatur….
In the real world, the experiment has been done. Frogs will reliably jump out of pots of water being heated towards a boil.
Democrats need to stand firmly against Trump's fascist private army. Stop being dumber than frogs! A portion of the Republicans who like ICE like it because they worship strength. Act stronger than the Trumpists, and some of them will come over to us.
Ugh. THEY DONT LEARN. Is it naïveté or willful CYA ignorance?? THEY GUY WHO MURDERED RENEE GOOD WAS HIGHLY TRAINED AND HIGHLY EXPERIENCED. He’s been in ICE for 13 years and has marinated in the culture of CBP through all of its racism and corruption and lawlessness. He’s a firearm’s instructor!! Mark Warner, do you believe that “more training” would have stopped that murder???? I hate these people.
I am an independent who will donate money to any candidate from any party who stands up for democracy and the rule of law. I understand the philosophical differences between the parties but right now I am more concerned about the QUALITY of the candidates. Everyone should do their homework and financially support high quality candidacies and the integrity of the electoral system. And every one should VOTE! One third of eligible voters did not show up in 2024.
Health care is better for them, so they’re going to tiptoe around the whole bashing in doors and shooting people in the heads Nazi-fascism thing. It might not “play well.”
We need a better system than this two-party, winner take all, “one is weak and one is strong” farcical form of democracy.
"Health care is better for them, so they’re going to tiptoe around the whole bashing in doors and shooting people in the heads Nazi-fascism thing. It might not “play well.”
Thank you for summarizing this attitude so calmly and eloquently. This is exactly what they're doing, this is always their calculation, it's why I have come to literally despise them, and no amount of whataboutism from Democrats' apologists on Substack and other places will convince me that this isn't as despicable and contemptible as I feel it is. I can't stay calm enough to get into all the levels at which this attitude is destructive and irresponsible, and ultimately detrimental to our future.
ICE is a lawless army, shock troops in the Republican war on blue state America--on Democratic states and cities. The fact that the Democratic leadership is too craven to stand up for the people who put them in office, people who are being harassed, beaten, threatened, jailed, silenced, and gunned down for standing up for their fellow humans and their First Amendment rights fills me with a wild blend of emotions: the two at the top are contempt and despair.
Gotta be honest. I stopped reading past the 2nd "Democrat (and yes hate when it's used that way)!Legislator" . I blame their fecklessness almost as much as I blame the GOP's flat out misanthropy for the the fact the DOJ is currently acting as accessories after the fact of Nicole Good's murder. Too G-damned lame to call things as they are. ICE is a state-sanctioned domestic terror organization, ramping up political terror on the American people. The Administration and it's apoaratchiks consistently engage in stochastic terror (EG: "One of us, all of yours"?) and ICE is will be what the IRGC will be in Iran (only "Christo" as opposed to Islamofacist) and these mooks will be posing with cartons of eggs
Democratic Senators should listen to Sarah's focus groups. The only thing all Democratic voters have in common is that they want their elected officials to fight harder.
I also think the Clintons made a bad choice. When subpoenaed by Congress, you should at least show up. You can then refuse to answer certain questions on the "advice of counsel". But not showing up will land you in the slammer. Just ask Peter Navarro (he appealed his case all the way to the Supreme Court and lost). We may finally see what happens when someone with a Secret Service detail goes to jail.
Yes, but doesn’t Bill Clinton have “qualified immunity” ? Couldn’t he claim it for every question? Couldn’t he immediately appeal each question to John Roberts and the Supremes? Can’t Hillary claim spousal privilege? WTF?
Yeah, I think you're much more likely to go to jail for not showing up than for refusing to answer specific questions. There's just no defense for not showing up. If any one us got a subpoena (or even just a jury summons) and decided to skip it entirely, we'd be arrested and charged. Some things in life just aren't optional.
You know, at first blush I think, ‘Why not show up, hold a press conference before and after, screaming from the rooftops about the hypocrisy , selective persecution and prosecution, failure to enforce the Epstein files legislation, etc., etc., then I remember, just about everyone hates the Clintons.
This is something JVL said last year and is something Democrats demonstrate time and time again: These guys have no clue what time it is. They operate as if it’s still 2004 and they’re dealing with a president with whom they have strong policy disagreements rather than a potential autocrat whose ultimate goal is to kill them all.
This piece is disingenuous. They are meeting to discuss funding and appropriations. The Democrats main concern is Health Care funding.
The money for DHS was already appropriated. Why discuss more funding for DHS? That's what this meeting is about new appropriations. Healthcare funding is number one.
Booker states in the article that there should be restrictions on ICE, but that's part of a different but ongoing debate.
I also feel like shutting down the government over healthcare brought a discussion about healthcare to the forefront when no such discussion was previously taking place. Right now ICE is front page everywhere, everyone is already talking about it, so I don't think there's nearly the same urgent need to highlight it like there was with healthcare months ago.
Trump and the GOP are absolutely not going to cave to demands on reigning in ICE, so the Dems need to have a goal in mind if they're going to enact another shutdown over it. What's the end goal and the off ramp? Just keeping everything shut down for the rest of the year is not realistic, so at what point do the Dems cave on this if they shut everything down? Just getting people talking about ICE isn't enough, since that's already happening anyway.
I think there's a very real risk in shutting down the government this time with no plan in mind other than just voicing frustration. It runs the risk of changing the conversation from Trump's ICE overreach to "Dems keeping thousands of people without paychecks for a political stunt." You can't just assume you'll win every government shutdown fight in the court of public opinion just because you won the last one.
You are 100% correct. Conservative reporting loves to put the blame on Democrats for not reigning the Republicans. Its like blaming moms for misbehaving children.
JVL also thought that the shutdown last fall should have been over DC statehood.
But…..the polling says people like on-camera extrajudicial murder of ‘anarchists’ And ‘anti Christian fornicators’. And they’d rather keep the murders and get their health care for less $$$$. So, whaddaya gonna do? The people have spoken. And if I ignore all those people who’ll never vote for me anyway, I might not get to stay here in DC and continue my good works for the people!
One of the most infuriating things this past year has been discovering in real time how few people really have a durable set of beliefs. "Democrats don't want to make an issue of DHS because they poll better on healthcare" makes it indisputable that the party needs to be cleared out and replaced from the top down if we have any hope of making it out alive
Healthcare is much more important to people who need Healthcare assistance. It may not be important to us or the Bulwark team, but to a family with limited means who need health care, its life or death.
Reigning in ICE is a whole different discussion and the writers of this article know it.
It's possible to address multiple things at the same time. The fact that DHS is actively terrorizing and attempting to militarily occupy Americans cities is as critical as healthcare. Democrats have the ability to withhold support under the condition that regulations are added to DHS funding. I made no comment on the writer of this article. I was commenting on the behavior of Congressional Democrats. The reporting here is consistent with other reporting on the topic.
ICE is also a matter of life and death.
On Tuesday, the Congressional Progressive Caucus officially announced that its members will oppose any proposed funding for immigration enforcement in the DHS spending bill, or any others, until changes to enforcement practices carried out by ICE are enacted.
If they don’t fight this spending on DHS and the ICE Gestapo then I’m done with the Democrats. There is not one set of balls in the Dems on the hill. We need to start speaking to, and organizing, Independents (which is what I am).
I am not done but i will give no money to any democrat who doesn’t fight for this. I also want Schumer to resign his post and I vote for Corey Booker to replace him!
You go to war with the army that you have, not the one you want. Organizing independents has been tried many times and failed. A big reason why is that the basic structure of American governance heavily privileges the two major parties. So if you want to have an impact, you're going to need to pick a party.
I pick the Democrats -- and would suggest that there is more political courage in our congressional delegation than you give them credit for.
I've been thinking that the verifiers? The people out on the street night in night out? These groups (I'm in one) are getting more and more organized. And they should start primarying these fossilized losers.
Don’t the Democrats realize that he is building his own private military, but calling it ICE? He is getting ready for the midterms.
Disarm ICE. They should be strictly limited to non-lethal rounds. After all they are basically tasked with logistics ops. If they need protection from dangerous thugs during a deportation they can ask local PD to assist.
I think it's a mistake to not join this fight on DHS and ICE.
But even if they don't shut it down over that, they have multiple winning issues to force: (1) healthcare, which the senate can force the bill that has now passed the House as a shutdown, and (2) the Epstein files, which DOJ is sitting on, and they can pass a law making sure there is enforcement against Bondi and DOJ, (3) war powers. These are all areas where the Democratic caucus is on the same page, and they enjoy the support of the American people.
If they actually care about healthcare, score a win. They can still campaign on healthcare in 2026 even if they manage to extend the Obamacare subsidies. On Epstein, the public is like 80%-20% and they can force it back into the spotlight, which will be great for 2026. On war powers, no one wants us to invade Greenland. It should be extremely easy to shut the government down in favor of a resolution making it 100% clear Trump cannot attack Greenland.
The idea that they'd roll over when ICE is destroying US cities, Trump is covering up the crimes of Epstein and associates, and Trump is threatening to implode NATO and take us back 100 years to imperialist and colonialist policy, my god.
Meanwhile (!!!):
"Next steps on Greenland could come as soon as a few 'weeks,' a US official tells USA TODAY in an exclusive interview...President Donald Trump's desire to annex Greenland will not be thwarted and there could be meaningful U.S. action related to the Arctic island within 'weeks or months,' according to a senior administration official."
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2026/01/13/us-greenland-trump-action-news/88145613007/
MEANWHILE (!!!!!!):
"A House Republican on Monday introduced legislation that would give President Trump the authority to annex Greenland and turn it into a U.S. state. Why it matters: The bill is an extreme long-shot, but it serves as a stark display of Republicans' eagerness to prove their loyalty to the president as he muses publicly about acquiring the island territory by force. Lawmakers in both parties have brushed off the notion of invading Greenland and sovereign countries like Mexico and Colombia, but Trump has continued to hammer the idea. An invasion of Greenland, which is an overseas territory of Denmark, could trigger a NATO response under Article 5 of the organization's charter. Driving the news: Rep. Randy Fine, a staunch Trump loyalist from Florida, introduced the two-page bill, called the Greenland Annexation and Statehood Act."
https://www.axios.com/2026/01/12/trump-greenland-annex-republican-bill-congress
Articles like this normalize the insane.
And here we thought last year was quite the ride! Buckle up as it looks like this rollercoaster is about to do a few loops!
Dems out of touch. That's like saying a nuclear blast is warm. They don't have the first clue about the level of rage among their beloved constituents.
In sounds to me that you are a man of exceptional vision, political fortitude and connection to the people. When are you going to run for office and show the Democrats how it should be done?
Lovely, but your snark is a little mis-aimed. I'm not a Democrat, I'm an apostate RINO. And I'm very aware how mad y'all get when we gratuitously lecture you on effective politics. But my presence here, on the same side of the barricades as you, is a fact that will remain in place for the duration. We can shit on each other later, but we've all got more fish on the grill for the moment.
I love your attitude, George! And contrary to my lame-assed tribe members, I think we could learn a lot from Republicans. If only that engrained smugness and superiority complex didn't keep kicking and belching, polluting the air until everybody is gagging and going home, again, without having accomplished much in this circular firing squad thus created. We have so much more in common than not. We keep letting them divide us, and unfortunately, the Ds aren't any more astute in figuring out how we're being manipulated than the Rs. So much for superiority.
Thank you Marguerite.
"We're all ignorant, just on different topics" - Mark Twain
"DHS funding, period, is a red line for me until they start answering Congress’s questions,” Booker said. “I’ve sent questions about training and professional standards to them for months now, and they haven’t even responded. So if they’re not in compliance with simple oversight questions, why should they get their resources? They have to answer to Congress.”
Come on, Cory, go for the jugular, the federal and state background checks for these madmen with automatic weapons who have no sense of shame or anything other than cuffing, carting off to non-overseen detention facilities, and even killing the Felon's opponents.
How many of them are pardoned J6ers who were properly and legally convicted of federal offenses, or their Oath Keeping, Proud Boy buddies who were there but got away? I bet dollars to donuts that those stats do not exist, not because they have been destroyed, but because they were never collected in the first place. The Felon bought their loyalty with his pardons and they are paying him back in spades.
And much to the consternation of the Democratic leadership, as quasi-federal employees, they get healthcare! So, not very likely to be swayed to the D’s as they continue the battle for just enough healthcare to survive long enough for ICE to expand the scope of their detainment imprimatur….
Democrats are like frogs in boiling water.
In the real world, the experiment has been done. Frogs will reliably jump out of pots of water being heated towards a boil.
Democrats need to stand firmly against Trump's fascist private army. Stop being dumber than frogs! A portion of the Republicans who like ICE like it because they worship strength. Act stronger than the Trumpists, and some of them will come over to us.
Yup. And they attack YOU when you point this out.
Ugh. THEY DONT LEARN. Is it naïveté or willful CYA ignorance?? THEY GUY WHO MURDERED RENEE GOOD WAS HIGHLY TRAINED AND HIGHLY EXPERIENCED. He’s been in ICE for 13 years and has marinated in the culture of CBP through all of its racism and corruption and lawlessness. He’s a firearm’s instructor!! Mark Warner, do you believe that “more training” would have stopped that murder???? I hate these people.
I am an independent who will donate money to any candidate from any party who stands up for democracy and the rule of law. I understand the philosophical differences between the parties but right now I am more concerned about the QUALITY of the candidates. Everyone should do their homework and financially support high quality candidacies and the integrity of the electoral system. And every one should VOTE! One third of eligible voters did not show up in 2024.
Jeez.
Health care is better for them, so they’re going to tiptoe around the whole bashing in doors and shooting people in the heads Nazi-fascism thing. It might not “play well.”
We need a better system than this two-party, winner take all, “one is weak and one is strong” farcical form of democracy.
What a joke.
"Health care is better for them, so they’re going to tiptoe around the whole bashing in doors and shooting people in the heads Nazi-fascism thing. It might not “play well.”
Thank you for summarizing this attitude so calmly and eloquently. This is exactly what they're doing, this is always their calculation, it's why I have come to literally despise them, and no amount of whataboutism from Democrats' apologists on Substack and other places will convince me that this isn't as despicable and contemptible as I feel it is. I can't stay calm enough to get into all the levels at which this attitude is destructive and irresponsible, and ultimately detrimental to our future.
ICE is a lawless army, shock troops in the Republican war on blue state America--on Democratic states and cities. The fact that the Democratic leadership is too craven to stand up for the people who put them in office, people who are being harassed, beaten, threatened, jailed, silenced, and gunned down for standing up for their fellow humans and their First Amendment rights fills me with a wild blend of emotions: the two at the top are contempt and despair.
Gotta be honest. I stopped reading past the 2nd "Democrat (and yes hate when it's used that way)!Legislator" . I blame their fecklessness almost as much as I blame the GOP's flat out misanthropy for the the fact the DOJ is currently acting as accessories after the fact of Nicole Good's murder. Too G-damned lame to call things as they are. ICE is a state-sanctioned domestic terror organization, ramping up political terror on the American people. The Administration and it's apoaratchiks consistently engage in stochastic terror (EG: "One of us, all of yours"?) and ICE is will be what the IRGC will be in Iran (only "Christo" as opposed to Islamofacist) and these mooks will be posing with cartons of eggs
Geeeeez Tim, when you put it that way…….I am with you 100%. Maybe the MAGAverse had that “uniparty” thing at least partially correct.
"I don't want to see an increase [to a recently 10x-ed budget for a criminally-bad agency]" is.... A take.
Democratic Senators should listen to Sarah's focus groups. The only thing all Democratic voters have in common is that they want their elected officials to fight harder.
I also think the Clintons made a bad choice. When subpoenaed by Congress, you should at least show up. You can then refuse to answer certain questions on the "advice of counsel". But not showing up will land you in the slammer. Just ask Peter Navarro (he appealed his case all the way to the Supreme Court and lost). We may finally see what happens when someone with a Secret Service detail goes to jail.
Yes, but doesn’t Bill Clinton have “qualified immunity” ? Couldn’t he claim it for every question? Couldn’t he immediately appeal each question to John Roberts and the Supremes? Can’t Hillary claim spousal privilege? WTF?
Yeah, I think you're much more likely to go to jail for not showing up than for refusing to answer specific questions. There's just no defense for not showing up. If any one us got a subpoena (or even just a jury summons) and decided to skip it entirely, we'd be arrested and charged. Some things in life just aren't optional.
You know, at first blush I think, ‘Why not show up, hold a press conference before and after, screaming from the rooftops about the hypocrisy , selective persecution and prosecution, failure to enforce the Epstein files legislation, etc., etc., then I remember, just about everyone hates the Clintons.
The GOP are dropping a civil investigation of the killer, instead targeting Renee Good's wife! Prosecutors are resigning over it (shared link):
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/13/us/prosecutors-doj-resignation-ice-shooting.html?unlocked_article_code=1.EFA.BMpd.lOlc0PoQ12zQ&smid=url-share
Lindsay Halligan is available to prosecute. Alina Habba-Dabba-Doo is too!