4 House Democrats Break Ranks, Back GOP DHS Funding Bill in Shutdown Fight
Four House Democrats crossed party lines and voted with Republicans to approve a Department of Homeland Security funding bill, deepening divisions inside the Democratic caucus during an ongoing shutdown fight.
The House passed the measure 221–207, aiming to restore funding to DHS and end the partial shutdown that has disrupted several federal security agencies.
But the vote exposed a sharp split among Democrats over immigration enforcement policy and how to respond to recent controversies involving federal agents.
According to congressional vote records and reporting from multiple outlets, the four Democrats who supported the Republican-backed bill were Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Jared Golden of Maine, and Don Davis of North Carolina.
Most Democrats opposed the legislation, arguing it failed to include new oversight requirements for immigration enforcement agencies such as ICE and Customs and Border Protection.
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“The shutdown is hurting the very security operations we all depend on,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said in urging passage of the bill.
The dispute comes amid heightened tensions surrounding DHS after fatal shootings involving federal immigration agents earlier this year, incidents that prompted many Democrats to demand stricter oversight and transparency requirements.
Those demands have become a central sticking point in negotiations, with Democratic leaders saying they will not support funding legislation that does not include new restrictions on immigration enforcement operations.
Republicans have pushed back, arguing that continued funding lapses weaken homeland security during a period of rising global tensions and domestic security concerns.
For now, the shutdown fight remains unresolved beyond the House.
The bill now moves to the Senate, where lawmakers would need bipartisan support to reach the 60 votes required to advance the measure.
What happens next will likely depend on whether negotiators can reach a compromise on immigration oversight provisions.
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