There were two more votes held in Congress on Thursday in hopes of fully funding the federal government, in both the U.S. House of Representative and the Senate, by covering part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). The measures had something of a mixed reception.
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The Senate Dems went first in slow-walking the passage of the last piece of funding, voting 51-45 (the only Democrat to vote yea was Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA)):
🚨 BREAKING: US Senate REJECTS effort to reopen the Department of Homeland Security in a 51-45 vote, despite an ACTIVE threat of terrorist sleeper cells amid conflict with Iran
John Fetterman joined Republicans voting YEA
Chuck Schumer and the Democrats are TRAITORS and must… pic.twitter.com/g6lEnSyXeJ
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) March 5, 2026
🚨 BREAKING: The US Senate has just FAILED to advance the DHS funding bill, which means DHS will likely shutdown tomorrow night
Fetterman was the lone Democrat to vote in favor.
These idiots aren’t shutting down ICE, because ICE is FULLY FUNDED for the year.
They’re shutting… pic.twitter.com/6RiMataVKz
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) February 12, 2026
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, (R-SD) told Fox News in the story linked above that “Democrats had ‘rebuffed’ Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., whom he anointed to run point for the GOP in negotiations, after repeated attempts to reach out to their counterparts,” adding that “it appeared the decision to ignore Britt and Republicans was coming from Schumer.”
This first sortie by Democrats happened just minutes after news broke about Pres. Trump replacing DHS Sec. Kristi Noem with Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK), as my colleague Bob Hoge wrote in several pieces.
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READ ALSO: Kristi Noem Responds to Being Fired As DHS Secretary, Thanks Trump for the New Gig
Breaking: Noem Out As Trump Names New Secretary of Homeland Security
Then on Thursday afternoon, the majority of Democrats in the lower chamber, instructed by Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08), tried their best to gum up the funding bill, although it passed 221-207:
It would fully fund all aspects of DHS while also including new guardrails on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) demanded by Democrats, like a body-worn camera mandate and new required training on public engagement and de-escalation.
Four Dems, Reps. Henry Cuellar (TX-28), Jared Golden (ME-2), Don Davis (NC-01), and Marie Gluesenkamp-Perez (WA-03), crossed the aisle to vote aye with the Republicans.
Earlier this week, Jeffries railed against Pres. Trump and the Iran mission, telling Fox News Digital in the report linked above that funding ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) without the GOP bending to the Democrats’ demands would be “ridiculous”:
“Donald Trump launches an unauthorized war in the Middle East. … He…wants to use his unauthorized war as an excuse to continue spending taxpayer dollars to brutalize or kill American citizens by continuing to unleash ICE without restriction on the American people? I think it’s ridiculous.”
The votes come after the GOP in the House held the line on Democrats trying to stop President Trump’s authority to command the U.S. military in combat action, as RedState wrote on Thursday. The legislation failed, 212-219.
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READ MORE: New: House Votes on War Powers Resolution Over Operation Epic Fury
Operation Epic Fury Will Continue As Senate Republicans Shoot Down Democrats’ War Powers Resolution
It followed a GOP majority rebuttal (with, no surprise, Fetterman voting with them) of Democrat efforts in the Senate late Wednesday to thwart the administration’s combat mission against the repressive regime, by a tally of 53-47.
DHS passed the House 221-209. Senate blocked it 51-45.@GOPMajorityWhip tweeted: “Why do Democrats bother showing up to work?”
If they didn’t, the vote threshold drops. A “not present” isn’t a “no.”
The Whip is asking the opposition to stay home so his job gets easier.
— MN06Watch (@MN6Watch) March 5, 2026
Here’s one of the Dems in the House, Rebecca Cooke (D-WI-03) who refused to vote for the DHS measure later on Thursday:
🚨YIKES: Democrat Rebecca Cooke FLEES THE SCENE when confronted about calling ICE ‘Disgusting!’
“Do you support the deportation of illegal immigrants that r*pe and murder U.S. citizens?”
“Why did you call ICE disgusting?”
“Do you support the abolishment of ICE?”
These… pic.twitter.com/NBPokZGoTc
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom)
<a target="_blank" href="https://twitter.com/townhallcom/status/2029600569485316126?ref
🚨YIKES: Democrat Rebecca Cooke FLEES THE SCENE when confronted about calling ICE ‘Disgusting!’
“Do you support the deportation of illegal immigrants that r*pe and murder U.S. citizens?”
“Why did you call ICE disgusting?”
“Do you support the abolishment of ICE?”
These… pic.twitter.com/NBPokZGoTc
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) March 5, 2026
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YIKES: Democrat Rebecca Cooke FLEES THE SCENE when confronted about calling ICE ‘Disgusting!’
“Do you support the deportation of illegal immigrants that r*pe and murder U.S. citizens?”
“Why did you call ICE disgusting?”
“Do you support the abolishment of ICE?”
These shouldn’t be hard questions to answer!
Why does she insist on running away?
Great question, and we need to keep asking these questions, so voters know where Democrats stand ahead of the midterms. What happens next? Senate leadership must find 60 votes, as the newly-passed House work product makes its way back to them.
This is a developing story, and RedState will provide updates as more information becomes available.
[Editor’s Note: this article was edited for clarity post-publication.]
Editor’s Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.
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