Seven Democrats Voted to Keep Funding ICE, Despite Everything

In apparent blissful ignorance of the country’s ICE-induced bedlam, several House Democrats voted alongside nearly every Republican member to give more money to the immigration agency.

The Department of Homeland Security’s $64.4 billion bill passed Thursday by a vote of 220–207, with seven Democrats voting in its favor. They were Representatives Henry Cuellar (Texas), Tom Suozzi (New York), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas), Laura Gillen (New York), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Washington), Jared Golden (Maine), and Don Davis (North Carolina).

Ahead of the vote, Suozzi wrote online that while “there is no question that ICE has overstepped its bounds,” he was willing to continue feeding the agency in order to avoid a government shutdown.

“I am voting for the Department of Homeland Security appropriations bill, not to expand ICE enforcement or add more agents, but to fund the core operations Americans rely on every day, FEMA disaster response, TSA security, Customs and Border Protection, the Coast Guard, passport processing, and other essential services,” Suozzi posted on X.

Suozzi also argued that the funding bill was the “product of bipartisan negotiations and responsible governing” and would provide funding for those critical agencies and services without expanding ICE’s budget.

Gillen issued a similar statement, claiming that her support was driven by advancing FEMA disaster relief. Other priorities of Gillen’s addressed in the package included efforts to stop child trafficking and the spread of fentanyl, and new support for cybersecurity and law enforcement.

“I’m shocked my colleagues would vote to cut off national and community security funding while leaving ICE to operate under the status quo,” she wrote.

The Democrats in favor of the bill tried to underscore its meager wins on reining in ICE: $20 million to outfit ICE personnel with body cameras, cuts to ICE funding for enforcement and removal operations, and a downsizing of the number of detention beds.

But the bulk of the caucus saw the funding package as a broken take on their current policy positions, chastising their colleagues for supporting the agency at a time when ICE is mass-employing undertrained personnel and giving them broad immunity to harass, intimidate, and harm American communities. A vote in favor, according to some Democrats, could bode poorly come midterms.

“You can’t out-Republican Republicans, because you’re going to lose your base and you’re not going to get any of the Republicans to come over to you,” Representative Pramila Jayapal told NBC News.

Meanwhile, one Republican voted against the measure—Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie—though his opposition did not have to do with what’s happening in Minneapolis, Chicago, or other ICE hot spots.

In a post on X, Massie argued that while he “voted for the SAVE Act and support[s] deporting illegals,” he wouldn’t approve more financial support to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, which he derided as the “liberals’ favorite censorship agency.”

“I don’t support online censorship,” Massie wrote.

Instead of high-speed rail or sorely needed infrastructure overhaul, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy is using his powers to try to bring IndyCar racing to the streets of downtown Washington, D.C.

Punchbowl News reported Friday that Duffy is pushing for an IndyCar race around the National Mall as a part of the America250 celebrations this upcoming August. The Supreme Court would serve as the start and end of a full lap around the mall.

“The Grand Prix is an unprecedented opportunity to celebrate our nation’s proud racing pedigree, showcase the beauty of the National Mall, and generate millions in critical tourism revenue for the capital,” a Transportation Department spokesperson said. “We’ll keep working with our partners in Congress to outline the positive impacts it will have on the District and correct the record.”

The plan would need congressional approval, since there’s a ban on advertising on Capitol grounds, and Democrats are reportedly already concerned about potential infrastructure and logistics issues an event like this could cause. And they aren’t the only skeptics.

“The IndyCar schedule has been set for months, but Duffy wants this GP in August. How does this fit in? Non-championship exhibition event like Thermal Club was in ’24?” journalist Benjamin S. Weiss commented. “Does anyone actually think a street circuit along the Mall would make for good racing?”

FBI Director Kash Patel doesn’t like to read briefings.

Forty-five current FBI employees spoke to The New York Times about the state of the bureau one year into Patel’s tenure, and his lack of interest in reading is one of the many revelations about their new director. What they had to say painted a damning picture of Patel’s leadership.

Patel made his feelings known on the written word during his first director’s call with the heads of the bureau’s field offices. On that call, according to one field office leader, Patel “had no agenda, no thoughts, no strategy or leadership philosophy or priorities to share.”

“I specifically remember him saying at one point, ‘I don’t read.’ He explained he didn’t read briefing materials,” the leader said.

This seems to fit right in with previous reporting about Patel, from his repeated use of the FBI’s private jet to see his singer girlfriend to his apparent obsession with social media. In fact, the tagline of the Times report is about how current and former FBI employees say Patel’s changes “are undermining the agency and making America less safe.”

Patel largely got the FBI job because President Trump was impressed with his desire to take revenge on Trump’s enemies. It seems that a willingness to take the job seriously and effectively run the most powerful law enforcement agency in the U.S. wasn’t a factor, nor was the desire to read important materials. That’s something that he has in common with Trump.

President Donald Trump blamed the “big aspirin” he’s taking for his enormous bruise that has suddenly switched hands.

Trump was photographed at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week with what appeared to be yet another large bruise. This time, the back of his left hand was discolored, though normally it’s his right hand that’s been bruised.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One Thursday, Trump offered an explanation for the injury.

“I clipped it on the table. So I put a little uh, what do they call it? Cream on it. But I clipped it,” Trump told reporters. “I would say, take aspirin if you like your heart, but don’t take aspirin if you don’t wanna have a little bruising. You know, if you take the big—I take the big aspirin. And when you take the big aspirin, they tell you, you bruise.

“The doctor said, ‘You don’t have to take that sir, you’re very healthy.’ I said, ‘I’m not taking any chances,’” Trump recounted.

As intent as Trump is to blame the injury on “big aspirin,” clearly he didn’t want to appear actually feeble.

But the oldest president ever elected to office has regularly been spotted with mysterious bruising on the back of his hand, giving rise to speculations about his health—including as to whether he is receiving undisclosed intravenous treatment.

The White House has dismissed concerns, citing Trump’s “frequent hand shaking and the use of aspirin”—a dubious line, given that the mark appears on the part of the hand subjected to the least, if any, pressure during a handshake.

President Trump is selling permanent membership spots on his new “Board of Peace” for $1 billion—and he won’t tell us what the money is for. 

“On the Board of Peace, some of the countries … I think the permanent members contributed a billion dollars,” a reporter asked Trump on Thursday night aboard Air Force One. “Is that money supposed to be for Gaza?” 

The “Board of Peace” was initially a post-ceasefire reconstruction plan for Gaza, hence the reporter’s question. But now it seems to have evolved into a Trump-controlled dupe of the United Nations.

“Some of the countries have already put up much more than that,” Trump responded. “Much more than that.” 

“What’s that money for?”

“That’s a lot of money, but it’s nothing compared to the value of peace,” Trump said, completely ignoring the direct question. “It’s so destructive for everybody when you have wars.” 

This is an incredibly dubious answer, especially from a president who has spent so much of his tenure personally enriching himself and his family. Is the membership fee for a chunk of real estate in Jared Kushner’s abhorrent “New Gaza” plan? Or is it going straight to Trump’s pocket via some offshore bank account based in Qatar? We may never know.  

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s rising global popularity has cost him a seat at Donald Trump’s “Board of Peace.”

“Dear Prime Minister Carney,” Trump posted on Truth Social Thursday evening. “Please let this Letter serve to represent that the Board of Peace is withdrawing its invitation to you regarding Canada’s joining, what will be, the most prestigious Board of Leaders ever assembled, at any time.

“Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he added.

The sudden revocation came hours after a heated back-and-forth between the neighboring leaders regarding Carney’s scathing address at the World Economic Forum in Davos, in which he marked the finale of Pax Americana and the end of a “rules-based order.”

“Every day we’re reminded that we live in an era of great-power rivalry,” Carney said Tuesday. “That the rules-based order is fading. That the strong can do what they can, and the weak must suffer what they must.

“The middle powers must act together because if we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu.”

The speech was phenomenally well met—except by Trump, who proceeded to warn Carney online that “Canada lives because of the United States.” Then he pulled the plug on Canada’s invite to his supposedly coveted “Board of Peace.”

Trump initially floated his “Board of Peace” idea back in September, as part of a 20-point peace plan to control Gaza, promising to include major heads of state as well as former world leaders, such as former U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair.

But the board’s charter, as circulated to dozens of nations last week, makes little mention of Gaza. Instead, its goals appear to be as lofty as they are broad, seeking to “promote stability, restore dependable and lawful governance, and secure enduring peace in areas affected or threatened by conflict.”

The concept came under new scrutiny over the last week in light of Trump’s escalations toward Greenland and NATO. Trump has also invited leaders of nations with terrible track records on human rights, such as Russia and Saudi Arabia, to join.

Longtime U.S. allies warned that the “Board of Peace” could upend world order, with several, including France, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, and Slovenia, refusing to join the board at all.

Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob told reporters Wednesday that he had declined on the basis that such a body “dangerously interferes with the broader international order.”

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents dragged a half-naked elderly grandfather out into the snow in handcuffs while on a manhunt—but the person they were looking for was already in custody.

The Department of Homeland Security tried to justify dragging ChongLy “Scott” Thao out into the snowy streets of St. Paul, Minnesota, over the weekend by claiming that ICE had been conducting a “targeted operation” to arrest two convicted sex offenders who were “AT LARGE.”

But Minnesota Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell revealed Thursday night that one of the targets of that operation, Lue Moua, who was allegedly wanted for assault of a minor, was already in custody.

“He is in fact in prison and subject to a detainer,” Schnell said, during an interview on CNN’s OutFront with Erin Burnett. Schnell said ICE had previously been notified that Moua was not actually “at large.”

Schnell explained that while ICE’s coordination with local law enforcement was “long-standing,” ICE was not well coordinated with state law enforcement. “This is happening at a much higher level, a political level, and I think that’s part of the challenge here,” he said.

Clearly, DHS has been using the alleged presence of undocumented immigrants with heinous criminal records to justify countless cruelties in Minnesota, but the stories it’s spinning are simply fiction, and the so-called criminals it’s looking for aren’t even on the streets anymore.

Earlier this week, DHS demanded that leaders in Minnesota give it access to county jails and state prisons in order to deport an alleged 1,360 inmates who may be subject to deportation. The Minnesota Department of Corrections said the number of inmates DHS had actually identified was closer to 300 people—who would historically be released to federal officials after they’d finished serving their sentences.

Vice President JD Vance is claiming that the ICE violence in Minneapolis is the fault of leaders there.

Speaking to reporters while visiting Minnesota, Vance was asked what he would say to Minnesotans who say that ICE’s increased presence and harsh tactics are making them unsafe. Vance blamed local authorities for refusing to cooperate.

“I’d say that we’re doing everything that we can to lower the temperature, and we would like federal and local—excuse me, state and local officials to meet us halfway,” Vance began, before NBC reporter Maggie Vespa interjected.

“Are you saying that they’re not perceiving it correctly? Are you saying that they’re not seeing that it’s the tactics or the presence of the officers that are—” the reporter asked before Vance cut in.

“I’m sure that there are people that are seeing a lot of things that would make any member of our national community feel very upset, but I also think that if you understand this in context, this is the inevitable consequence of a state and local government that have decided that they’re not going to cooperate with immigration enforcement at all. In fact, they’re going to aggressively not cooperate,” Vance said.

Vance’s remarks are alarming, as he just glossed over the murder of Renee Good earlier this month, which touched off much of the protest in Minneapolis against ICE, as well as the many striking headlines from the area since then, including the use of a 5-year-old boy as bait Tuesday to arrest his father.

The vice president is basically saying to the people of Minneapolis to “tell the police to work with us, or else.” While Vance claims to want to lower the temperature, the longer he speaks, the more he doubles down in defense of ICE’s actions. If this is the Trump administration’s stance, it seems like things are only going to get worse.

Vice President JD Vance seems to believe that Black and brown U.S. citizens in Minneapolis being pulled over by ICE did something to deserve it—including the cops of color being targeted.

“Earlier this week, local law enforcement accused federal agents of racial profiling,” a reporter asked Vance at a Thursday press conference in Minneapolis. “Why are there so many U.S. citizens being caught up in this operation?”

Vance blamed those getting arrested instead of the agents.

“Well, I think your question assumes something that’s not necessarily in evidence, which is that when there are American citizens who have been caught up in some of these enforcement operations, very often it is people who have assaulted a law enforcement officer,” Vance said, ignoring that nearly 200 Americans nationwide were detained, dragged, and beaten by ICE last year.

“They’re not being arrested because they violated the immigration laws, they’re being arrested because they punched a federal law enforcement officer,” Vance claimed without evidence. “That is a totally reasonable thing.”

But as that’s precisely the opposite of what Minnesota residents—and Americans everywhere–are claiming. Plenty of U.S. citizens have been detained for simply “looking” or “sounding” like an immigrant.

“Now to the accusation of racial profiling, it’s something that we take very seriously. We will take accusations of racial profiling back to Washington, we’ll certainly look into them as they come up,” Vance continued. “But this is not a group that’s going around and looking for people who violated the law based on skin color. They’re looking for people who violated the actual law—the law of our immigration system.”

Earlier this week, a local police chief warned that federal agents’ racial profiling is so pervasive that many of his cops are being targeted while off-duty. But when asked about that warning on Thursday, Vance was again dismissive.

“I saw one story about this from one local police officer who said this, and look … is it a concern? Absolutely. The first thing we have to figure out is whether it happened or not,” he said. “Many of the most viral stories of the past couple weeks have turned out to be at best, partially true.… We’re not gonna prejudge people.”

While the statement Vance is referring to was delivered by “one cop,” it involved multiple reports of racial profiling from the local force.

“As this went on over the past two weeks, we started hearing from our police officers the same complaints as they fell victim to this while off-duty. Every one of these individuals is a person of color who has had this happen to them,” Brooklyn Park Police Chief Mark Bruley said on Tuesday. “We know our officers know what the Constitution is, they know when right and wrong is, and they know when people are being targeted,” Bruley continued. “If it is happening to our officers, it pains me to think how many of our community members are falling victim to this every day. It has to stop.”

A bipartisan effort to curb AI-generated deepfake porn has linked hands from Washington to Hollywood.

In an unlikely political alliance, Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appeared beside Republican Representatives Anna Paulina Luna and Nancy Mace Thursday in support of the Disrupt Explicit Forged Images and Non-Consensual Edits, or DEFIANCE, Act. If passed, the bill would create a pathway for civil action against those who produce, distribute, receive, or possess digitally generated porn that uses the face or likeness of an individual without their permission.

In lockstep with the high-profile politicians outside the U.S. Capitol was another famous face: Paris Hilton, who argued that deepfake porn had “become an epidemic.”

“Before, someone had to betray your trust and steal something real. Now, all it takes is a computer and a stranger’s imagination,” Hilton said. “I know that today there are over 100,000 explicit deepfake images of me made by AI. Not one of them is real, not one of them is consensual.”

Hilton underscored that, barring new legislation, people have little recourse under the current system to stop the digital abuse.

“Each time a new one appears, that horrible feeling returns: that fear that someone somewhere is looking at it now and thinking it’s real. No amount of money or lawyers could stop it or protect me,” she told a crowd of reporters.

“It’s the newest form of victimization happening at scale, to your daughters, your sisters, your friends and neighbors,” Hilton added.

Tech experts argue that the production of deepfakes is doubling every six months, in part due to the widespread availability of AI. While much reporting has focused on the influence of deepfakes and artificially generated imagery on electoral integrity, coverage has practically glanced over the biggest victims of the practice. The vast majority of deepfakes—some 90 percent—are non-consensually generated porn depicting women, reported Context News in 2024.

The issue has come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks after Elon Musk’s AI chatbot Grok began churning out deepfake porn with its new image-generating capabilities. Some of the images included sexually explicit deepfakes of children, reported The 19th.

“A staggering one in eight girls today are experiencing the harms of AI-generated deepfake porn,” Hilton said.

Ocasio-Cortez has been fighting the battle against deepfake porn for years. In April 2024, she told Rolling Stone that the damage dealt by the disturbing practice is “not a question of mental strength or fortitude” but rather “about neuroscience and our biology.”

“It’s not as imaginary as people want to make it seem. It has real, real effects not just on the people that are victimized by it, but on the people who see it and consume it,” the New York lawmaker told the magazine, underscoring that the impact of deepfakes parallels the intention of physical rape and assault.

“Deepfakes are absolutely a way of digitizing violent humiliation against other people,” she said at the time.

The DEFIANCE Act passed through the Senate with flying colors earlier this month. If it passes a floor vote in the House, it would become the first federal law aimed at protecting victims of deepfakes, allowing victims to pursue damages starting at $150,000.