The moment of truth for congressional Democrats.

February 4, 2026

The House approved five appropriations bills on Tuesday, and Trump signed them into law. Congress also approved a two-week funding extension for the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency of ICE. Democrats allowed the five bills to pass with the promise that they would stand firm in demanding meaningful reforms to ICE’s murderous, brutalizing, unlawful police practices.

This is the moment of truth for congressional Democrats. They must finally show courage and principle. They must demonstrate leadership that places the safety and liberty of their constituents above all else, rather than calibrating every action with the cowardly political algorithm, “Will this help or hurt my chances of re-election?”

Our nation is in a moment of crisis. We have no need of politicians. We need patriots and heroes, men and women of their word who will defend the Constitution, as they promised.

In this moment, “bi-partisanship” is a code-word for “capitulation.” There is nothing bipartisan about allowing ICE to continue public executions. There is nothing bipartisan about allowing roving gangs of masked men with automatic rifles and grenade launchers to terrorize peaceful residents of cities and states whose only crime was to vote against Donald Trump in 2024. There is nothing bipartisan about jailing children.

The current proposals for “reforms” floated by Democrats amount to nothing more than asking ICE to observe minimum standards of conduct that apply to every law enforcement agency in America. That is not reform. That is begging ICE to behave—“Pretty please, with a cherry on top.”

The truth is that ICE is so broken, so corrupt, that it must be disbanded and a new agency must be created to replace it. It must be defunded, its ranks cleared of officers caught on tape beating, shooting, tear-gassing, punching, and mocking Americans who are going about their daily lives or exercising their First Amendment rights.

Democrats held a hearing on Tuesday with some of the survivors of ICE violence and mistreatment. Lawrence O’Donnell devoted the first 20 minutes of his nightly news program to the hearing. You can watch it here: The Last Word. (click on the segment with the title, “In Cold Blood.”

If you watch this segment—and I request that you do as a personal favor to me—you will agree that we must defund and replace ICE wholesale. It will require you to devote 10 minutes of your life to listening to heartbreaking, enraging testimony. But it will change your view of the relationship between Trump’s lawless regime and America’s citizens and residents. It will change your view about the need to replace and rebuild ICE from the ground up, I promise.

The half-measures and window-dressing currently being shopped by Chuck Schumer are an insult to the memories of those killed and brutalized by ICE. They are the rock-bottom, bare minimum first steps toward meaningful reform. Members of ICE will continue their brutal terror even with body cameras and without masks. They don’t care if they are filmed committing illegal acts—because they have been told Trump will protect them, and they have been recruited precisely because they don’t care.

They glorify violence; they celebrate the number of bullet holes that their weapons of war inflict on American citizens. See ABC News, ‘5 shots, 7 holes’: Border patrol supervisor appeared to brag about shooting woman, defense attorney says. (The Border Patrol agent testified that bragging about the number of times he shot an innocent woman was “a way of relieving stress.”) To similar effect is the public execution of Alex Pretti. When a physician rushed to provide aid to Pretti, he was surrounded by federal agents counting the bullet holes in his body instead of rendering first aid. See The Independent, Doctor who attended to shot protester says agents were counting bullet holes rather than administering CPR.

A long-term shutdown of DHS will be hard. It will result in travel delays, delay in paying the US military, and delay in FEMA payouts. Speaker Mike Johnson is already setting up Democrats as the “bad guys,” saying,

“What they’ll be shutting down is FEMA operations, as we’re cleaning up from the winter storms. They’ll be shutting down TSA, which is obviously necessary to keep the country moving through our airports. So many important functions in the Department of Homeland Security is what will be adversely affected by these partisan games.”

So, a word to congressional Democrats: Steel yourselves. We will either live in a society with a roving paramilitary that is executing citizens on the streets or not. It is up to you. For once in your lives, do the right thing—something that will be hard, possibly unpopular, and may affect your fundraising.

Congressional Democrats gave away most of their leverage by allowing the five appropriations bills to pass without a fight. They told us they would extract concessions when the DHS bill is put to a vote. It is the moment of truth for congressional Democrats. Don’t tell us who you are or what you believe. Show us.

More on Trump’s demand to “nationalize” elections in 15 states.

In yesterday’s newsletter, I addressed at length why it would be unlikely that Trump and congressional Republicans would “nationalize” elections anywhere. See Today’s Edition, Preparing for the shutdown battle . . . . I was skeptical that Republicans would abolish the filibuster to pass legislation that would implement Congress’s ability to regulate federal elections, which have traditionally been the purview of states—as permitted by the Constitution.

On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune dumped cold water on the idea. See The Hill, John Thune dismisses Donald Trump’s call for GOP to take over federal elections.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt made a valiant attempt to “walk back” Trump's comments, claiming that he was referring only to the SAVE Act, an anti-voting package passed by the House but stalled in the Senate by the filibuster. See NYTimes, Trump Repeats Call to ‘Nationalize’ Elections, as White House Walks It Back.

Per the Times, Leavitt said,

“What the president was referring to is the SAVE Act, which is a huge, common-sense piece of legislation that Republicans have supported, that President Trump is committed to signing into law during his term,” Ms. Leavitt said. [¶]

Ms. Leavitt said that “the president believes in the United States Constitution,” but that he also believed there had been “a lot of fraud and irregularities that have taken place in American elections.”

Despite Leavitt’s prevarication, Trump amplified his comments, again calling for nationalizing federal elections. So, there is a split between Trump and congressional Republicans, and Trump and his advisers.

I was sorely disappointed in much of the mainstream media coverage of this issue, which devoted 99.99% of its coverage to Trump’s threat and virtually no coverage to the fact that (a) the threat is subject to the filibuster, and (b) any extrajudicial efforts to interfere with state elections, e.g., by having the military seize ballot boxes, would be met by massive political protests that would bring down the Trump administration.

We can’t dismiss Trump’s delusional fantasies as irrelevant. See, e.g., January 6, 2021. But if we are going to amplify Trump’s threats, please give equal billing to the ability of the people to resist—in courts and in the streets. Looking at you, Chris Hayes and Jen Psaki. You are heroes of democracy, and we owe you a debt of gratitude, but please, don’t sell us short.

We are not potted plants or helpless victims without agency. We have been on the ramparts of democracy for eight months. Give us some credit. Better yet, rally us to redouble our efforts! Raising the alarm is appropriate; providing leadership is better.

Mass departures are hobbling the US Attorney’s office in Minnesota.

The US Attorney’s office in Minnesota has been plagued by waves of departures as DOJ leadership has ordered attorneys to prosecute the victims of ICE violence while protecting federal agents who engage in unlawful conduct. See AP News, More departures at the US attorney’s office in Minnesota, AP sources say. In addition, the illegal detentions of residents and citizens have led to a wave of habeas corpus petitions in federal court, which ICE, CBP, and the DOJ have routinely ignored.

On Tuesday, one of the nine remaining US Attorneys in the Minnesota office (out of 40), was called into court for a dressing down by a federal judge who was tired of the DOJ ignoring his orders. As described by Fox 9 News,

While [Assistant US Attorney Julie] Le said procedures are being implemented to ensure ICE complies with court orders moving forward, she admitted it has been like pulling teeth and has required non-stop work in an already depleted office.

“I wish you would just hold me in contempt of court so I can get 24 hours of sleep,” Le said. “The system sucks, this job sucks, I am trying with every breath I have to get you what I need.”

Two aspects of this story are important: First, Attorney General Pam Bondi is presiding over the destruction of the DOJ. It will need to be rebuilt from the ground up when we elect a Democratic president. Second, mass resignations in US Attorneys’ offices and the DOJ are likely to increase as Trump continues his war on the American people. That will limit the ability of Trump and his enablers to defend the administration’s unlawful actions, and lead to more adverse rulings against the administration at the district court and appellate levels.

Update on Trump’s fight with Harvard University.

Trump reacted badly to the NY Times’ story that he had dropped his demand for monetary penalties against Harvard for promoting diversity and inclusion. See The New Republic, Trump Suddenly Brings Back His Feud With Harvard in Crazed Rant.

Trump posted,

“Strongly Antisemitic Harvard University has been feeding a lot of ‘nonsense’ to The Failing New York Times,” Trump wrote in a lengthy post late Monday night. “Harvard has been, for a long time, behaving very badly!

“This should be a Criminal, not Civil, event, and Harvard will have to live with the consequences of their wrongdoings,” Trump wrote, adding: “We are now seeking One Billion Dollars in damages, and want nothing further to do, into the future, with Harvard University.”

Harvard should just ignore Trump. He will be distracted soon, and the DOJ has effectively conceded defeat in its defense of the administration’s illegal impoundment of funds. See ABC News, Trump administration drops legal appeal over anti-DEI funding threat to schools and colleges.

Federal judge gives a cold reception to the government’s defense of Hegseth’s demotion of Mark Kelly.

Senator Mark Kelly sued the administration, seeking an injunction preventing Sec. of Defense Pete Hegseth from demoting Kelly retroactively. Kelly released a social media post telling US military members that they could refuse to follow illegal orders. See Talking Points Memo, Judge Incredulous as Trump Lawyer Asks Him to Create New Law for Mark Kelly Retribution Crusade.

At one point in the hearing, US District Judge Leon said, “You’re asking me to do something that the Supreme Court has never done — that’s a bit of a stretch, is it not? That’s never been done before.

Hegseth will lose this fight. The only question is how long it will take for Senator Kelly to prevail.

Read this report about the contribution of immigrants to the US economy.

A report by the conservative CATO institute is worth reading, because it rebuts many of Trump’s lies about the contributions of immigrants to the US economy and Immigrants’ Recent Effects on Government Budgets: 1994–2023 | Cato Institute.

The executive summary notes the following:

• For each year from 1994 to 2023, the US immigrant population generated more in taxes than they received in benefits from all levels of government.

• Over that period, immigrants created a cumulative fiscal surplus of $14.5 trillion in real 2024 US dollars, including $3.9 trillion in savings on interest on the debt.

• Without immigrants, US government public debt at all levels would be at least 205 percent of gross domestic product (GDP)—nearly twice its 2023 level.

• These results, which do not account for any of immigration’s indirect, tax-revenue-boosting effects on economic growth, represent the lower bound of the positive fiscal effects. Even by this conservative analysis, immigrants may have already prevented a fiscal crisis.

Opportunity for Reader Engagement

For my Texas readers: Latino Victory is hosting an event in Austin on Friday, February 6th to kick off the Latino Victory Texas Coalition, a statewide, multi-cycle strategy to build early, locally grounded Latino political power.

If you’re wondering whether this work matters, look no further than the SD-9 special election, where Democrats flipped a Trump +17 district with a 32-point swing, driven by 50+ point shifts in heavily Latino precincts and a sharp rise in Latino turnout. When Latino voters are engaged early and consistently, the map changes.

Texas is projected to gain four new congressional seats and four additional electoral votes after the 2030 Census, making it essential to any future Democratic path to governing — whether in the House, the Senate, or the White House.

The event will feature Wendy Davis, Rep. Gina Hinojosa (candidate for Governor featured on my substack last month), Hon. Rochelle Garza, and Bobby Pulido — a Latin Grammy–winning Tejano icon with 30 years of hits and near-universal name recognition across South Texas — who will also perform a short set. Tickets start at $25, and anything helps them continue reaching Latino voters at scale. Link to support is here.

Concluding Thoughts

I had an exchange with a reader today that is worth sharing. I spent about 8 hours on Monday trying to use AI to write code to automate some of the daily newsletter tasks needed to keep the newsletter running smoothly (mainly handling reader requests about newsletter delivery and subscriptions). After a day’s worth of work, I was 99% of the way to an automated solution—which means that the “code” didn’t work. (That last 1% matters a lot!)

I then reached out to a reader, Bern S., and asked if he could help me figure out why the code wasn't working. (Bern had previously volunteered several very helpful software suggestions, so I respected his expertise.) Bern re-wrote my amateurish efforts into a very tight, elegant solution that works like a dream.

I offered to compensate Bern for his work. He politely declined and sent me the following quotations from George Bernard Shaw, which express a sentiment that applies to everyone involved in the resistance at this moment of crisis in our nation’s history:

This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.

I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no “brief candle” for me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.

We are engaged in a sacred duty—preserving democracy. I can think of nothing more noble or joyful than being “used up” in the process of preserving and passing the torch to future generations!

Daily Dose of Perspective

The Omega Nebula is an active star-forming region composed of ionized hydrogen gas. It is located approximately 5,000 light-years from Earth.

Pro-democracy protests

White Plains, NY. It's especially gratifying when truck drivers and bus drivers honk. Got quite a few of those today.

Basha High School, Chandler, AZ “Ice Out” walkout protest.

Pullman, WA

Burlington, WI: ICE OUT FOR GOOD AND PETTI

Rooted in Resistance SGV, Pasadena, CA

Visibility bridge brigade, Chandler, Arizona

Oakland, CA, filling every corner of the intersection.