Two House Democrats say they are likely to vote with Republicans on a bill that will fund the Department of Homeland Security and others in the party are weighing whether to join them, Axios reported.
Rep. Jared Golden of Maine told the news outlet he was "probably" supporting the legislation and that he was "generally supportive of giving law enforcement the resources they need."
Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas said: "It's not everything we wanted. We wanted more oversight. But look, Democrats don't control the House.
"We don't control the Senate or the White House. But we were able to add some oversight over Homeland."
Another House Democrat told Axios he expected "10 or fewer" in his party to support the bill.
Some Democrats say the measure does not adequately address President Donald Trump's mass deportation efforts.
House Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Katherine Clark of Massachusetts, and Pete Aguilar of California announced in a closed-door meeting that they would oppose the DHS bill.
Their members are demanding a forceful stand in response to the Republican president's immigration crackdown, most recently in the Minneapolis area, where more than 2,000 officers are stationed and where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot Renee Good, a mother of three.
"There's a very big concern about ICE being out of control," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro of Connecticut, ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.
This year's DHS bill holds spending for ICE roughly flat from the previous year. It also restricts the ability of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to unilaterally shift funding and allocate federal dollars as she sees fit.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., was optimistic that the funding bills would pass, including the DHS measure. He can afford a few defections given the GOP's razor-thin majority.
"All we do is win," Johnson said.
The overall funding package before the House on Thursday contains roughly $1.2 trillion in spending. About two-thirds of that will go to the Department of War.
Other departments that are funded through the package include Health and Human Services, Education, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development.
Most federal spending is unaffected by the yearly battles in Congress, most notably Social Security and Medicare.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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