WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. House Rep. Bennie Thompson voted against funding the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, joining other Democratic lawmakers who expressed concerns that the measure inadequately addressed President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts.

In a statement Thursday, the Mississippi Democrat cited an ICE officer’s shooting of Renee Good in Minnesota.

“For the past year, Donald Trump has weaponized DHS against the American people and is wreaking havoc in Minneapolis and other communities across this country,” said Thomson, who is the ranking member of the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee. “While DHS has strayed from its core mission, Renee Good has been killed by an ICE officer, deaths of those in ICE and CBP custody are at record highs, and Kristi Noem has abused the power of her office, obstructed Congressional oversight, and violated her oath of office to the Constitution.”

Despite the opposition from Thompson and other Democrats, the Republican-led House passed this year’s final batch of spending bills, including DHS funding, on Thursday. Lawmakers, still smarting from last fall’s record 43-day shutdown, worked to avoid another funding lapse for a broad swath of the federal government.

The four bills total about $1.2 trillion in spending and now move to the Senate, with final passage needed next week before a Jan. 30 deadline to avoid a partial government shutdown.

Three of the bills had broad, bipartisan support. They funded Defense and various other departments, including Education, Transportation and Health and Human Services. The bill funding the Department of Homeland Security was hotly disputed as Democrats voiced concerns that it failed to restrain President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts.

In his statement, Thompson said that Republicans who lead Congress “are conducting zero oversight and do nothing but send blank check after blank check to DHS.”

“I have consistently supported the DHS workforce over the past two decades and continue to do so, but I cannot—in good conscience—vote to send another dime to CBP and ICE as they terrorize our communities and sully the constitution,” the Mississippi congressman said. “I will be voting no.”

Republicans were able to overcome the Democratic objections and muscle the Homeland Security bill to passage in a 220-207 vote. The broader package, which funds a 3.8% pay raise for the military, passed in a 341-88 vote.

Before the votes, House Democratic leaders announced their opposition to the Homeland Security bill as the party’s rank-and-file demanded a more forceful stand in response to the Republican president’s immigration crackdown. Trump’s efforts have recently centered in the Minneapolis area, where more than 2,000 officers are stationed and where a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer fatally shot Renee Good, a mother of three.

In a joint statement, the Democratic leaders said Trump promised the American people that his deportation policy would focus on violent felons in the country illegally, but instead, ICE has targeted American citizens and law-abiding immigrant families.

“Taxpayer dollars are being misused to brutalize U.S. citizens, including the tragic killing of Renee Nicole Good. This extremism must end,” said the statement from Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar.

Democrats Had Limited Options

Democrats had few good options to express their opposition to Homeland Security funding.

Lawmakers, when confronting a funding impasse, generally turn to continuing resolutions to temporarily fund agencies at their current levels. But doing so in this case would simply cede more Homeland Security spending decisions to Trump, said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee.

Also, there was concern that a failure to fund Homeland Security would hurt disaster assistance programs and agencies such as the Transportation Security Administration, while ICE and Customs and Border Protection would simply carry on. They could use funding from Trump’s big tax cut and immigration bill to continue their operations. ICE, which typically receives about $10 billion a year, was provided $30 billion for operations and $45 billion for detention facilities through Republicans’ “one big beautiful bill.”

This year’s Homeland Security bill holds the annual spending that Congress provides ICE roughly flat from the prior year. It also restricts the ability of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to unilaterally shift funding and allocate federal dollars as she sees fit. The bill also allocates $20 million for the purchase and operations of body cameras for ICE and CBP officers interacting with the public during immigration enforcement operations. And it will require Homeland Security to provide monthly updates on how it plans to spend money from Trump’s bill.

“It’s not everything we wanted. We wanted more oversight. But look, Democrats don’t control the House. We don’t control the Senate or the White House. But we were able to add some oversight over Homeland,” said Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Texas, a member of the Appropriations panel.

Republicans countered that the Homeland Security bill helps lawmakers accomplish their most important duty — keeping the American people safe.

“This legislation delivers just that and upholds the America first agenda,” said Rep. Tom Cole, the Republican chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.

Republicans also celebrated the avoidance of a massive, catchall funding bill known as an omnibus as part of this year’s appropriations process. Such bills, often taken up before the holiday season with lawmakers anxious to return home, have contributed to greater federal spending, they say. This year’s effort, while a few months behind schedule, manages to keep non-defense spending just below current levels, they emphasized.

“It sends a clear, powerful message back home — the House is back at work. We are back to governing,” said Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo.

Anger on the House Floor

One by one, Democratic lawmakers lined up to voice their opposition to the Homeland Security bill with a particular focus on ICE, which has been rapidly hiring thousands of new deportation officers to carry out the president’s mass deportation agenda.

Rep. Betty McCollum of Minnesota said residents of her state were being racially profiled on a mass scale and kidnapped from their communities.

“Masked federal agents are seizing parents, yes, in front of terrified children,” McCollum said. “And many of these people we’re finding had no record and were here legally.”

“I will not fund an agency that acts like an American gestapo,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y.

“This is about the political retribution of a vengeful president,” said Clark of Massachusetts. “I will not rubberstamp the federal government’s use of political violence against its own people and I ask every member to join me in voting no.”

Cole decried some of the comments about ICE on the House floor.

“It’s reckless, encouraging people to believe that we have masses of bad actors in a particular agency,” Cole said.

In a last-minute add to the package, the House tacked on a provision that would repeal the ability of senators to sue the government over the collection of their cellphone data as part of special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

Senators had previously allowed suits claiming up to $500,000 in damages in an earlier funding bill, but the provision drew sharp criticism. The House unanimously agreed to block it.

Rep. Bennie G. Thompson, the senior Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, announced his support Friday for an effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

The Mississippi lawmaker said Ms. Noem has “enriched herself” on taxpayers’ dime, ignored Congress’s laws, defied court orders and hindered congressional oversight. He said that amounted to abuse of power and a violation of her oath of office.

“Therefore, we must build a record and begin the process of impeachment. It is not a remedy we pursue lightly, but it is also a duty we cannot ignore. Be assured that accountability is coming,” Mr. Thompson said.

He backed the impeachment resolution introduced this week by Rep. Robin Kelly, Illinois Democrat.

She cited three articles, namely obstruction of Congress, violation of public trust and self-dealing.

Impeachment is unlikely to go anywhere with the GOP in control of the House, but Mr. Thompson’s support for the idea made clear that Ms. Noem will be a target if Democrats gain control of the chamber in November’s elections.

The same situation faced then-Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, President Biden’s DHS chief.

When Republicans won control of the House in the 2022 election, he became a target.

He would go on to be impeached, becoming the first-ever sitting Cabinet official to suffer that ignominy.

Ironically, the charges against him were similar to those Ms. Kelly has aimed at Ms. Noem. He was accused of breach of public trust and refusal to comply with the law.

The Senate, then under the control of Democrats, dismissed the impeachment case against Mr. Mayorkas without holding a trial.

Ms. Noem has brushed aside impeachment talk, saying she is focused on her job.

Anger at Homeland Security has boiled over this month with the slaying of Renee Good, a U.S. citizen who died in a confrontation with a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer in Minneapolis.

Video of that confrontation has deeply divided the country, with President Trump’s supporters saying it showed Good ignore orders to get out of her SUV and lurch the vehicle at the officer, who was justified in firing. Mr. Trump’s opponents say the officer was too quick on the trigger and could have gotten out of the way.

A top FBI official struggled on Thursday to answer basic questions about Antifa after a Mississippi congressman pushed him to explain why he described the left-wing political movement as the nation’s top domestic terrorism threat.

“The first one—President Trump has just announced an executive order, the domestic organization Antifa—that’s our primary concern right now,” FBI National Security Branch Operations Director Michael Glasheen said during a U.S. Homeland Security Committee meeting in Washington, D.C.

“OK, that’s what President Trump did. What does the FBI say?” Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat who serves as the ranking member of the committee, replied.

“We share the same view,” the FBI official replied. “When you look at the data right now, you look at the domestic terrorist threat we’re facing, right now, what I see from my position is that’s the most immediate violent threat that we are facing on the domestic side.”

In September, Trump signed an executive order labeling Antifa as a domestic terrorist organization. Antifa is an anti-white supremacist, anti-fascist ideology, but has no organizational structure or leadership. 

A Congressional Research Service report in 2020 said that Antifa adherents “view themselves as part of a protest tradition that arcs back to opposition groups in Nazi Germany and fascist Italy prior to World War II.” But it noted that U.S. Antifa groups trace back to antiracist groups that “mobilized in the 1980s while opposing the activities of racist skinheads, members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK), and neo-Nazis.”

“So where is ANTIFA headquartered?” Thompson asked Glasheen during Thursday’s committee hearing.

“What we’re doing right now with the organization—,” the FBI official began.

The Mississippi congressman cut him off.

“Where in the United States does ANTIFA exist if it’s a terrorist organization and you’ve identified it as number one?” Thompson reiterated.

“We’re building out the infrastructure right now,” Glasheen said.

“So what does that mean?” Thompson pressed. “I’m just, we’re trying to get the information. You said ANTIFA is a terrorist organization. Tell us, as a committee, how did you come to that? Where do they exist? How many members do they have in the United States as of right now?”

“Well, it’s very fluid,” Glasheen said. “It’s ongoing for us to understand that. It’s no different than Al Qaeda and ISIS.”

In October, the FBI brought what FBI Director Kash Patel called the first-ever Antifa-related terrorism charges against two suspects accused of setting off fireworks at an ICE facility in Texas before entering and firing upon officers using semiautomatic rifles. The attack, which a federal indictment says “Antifa cell members” carried out, left one officer injured.

But while the Trump administration has focused on the threat of terrorism from individuals associated with Antifa beliefs, U.S. government assessments have repeatedly found in recent years that white supremacist and other racially motivated groups pose the highest threat.

During the committee hearing on Thursday, Rep. Thompson appeared increasingly frustrated as Glasheen avoided directly answering his questions about Antifa.

“I asked you one question, sir. I just want you to tell us: You said ANTIFA is the number one terrorist organization operating inside the United States,” the Mississippi Democrat said. “I just need to know where they are, how many people. I don’t want a name. I don’t want anything like that. How many people have you identified with the FBI that ANTIFA is made out of?”

“Well, the investigations are active,” Glasheen said, repeatedly raising his hands and dropping them down.

“Sir, you wouldn’t come to this committee and say something you can’t prove, I know. I knew you wouldn’t do that,” Thompson said.

Glasheen smiled.

“But you did.”

A top FBI official labeled antifa as the top domestic terrorist threat facing the United States, but could not answer basic details about the movement and its structure, under questioning from Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi.

Michael Glasheen, a longtime FBI agent serving as operations director of the National Security Branch, called the movement the agency’s “primary concern right now” during a hearing before the House Committee on Homeland Security.

President Donald Trump said in September he was ”designating” antifa as a major terrorist organization after conservative activist Charlie Kirk was fatally shot while speaking at Utah Valley University. 

Glasheen said the FBI shares the same concern as the president regarding the anti-fascist movement, known collectively as antifa.

“When you look at the data right now, you look at the domestic terrorist threat that we’re facing right now, what I see from my position is that’s the most immediate violent threat that we’re facing on the domestic side,” he said.

But when Rep. Thompson, D-Mississippi, the ranking chairman of the House Homeland Security committee, asked whether the group is headquartered or how many members it has, Glasheen did not have answers. 

“We are building out the infrastructure right now,” Glasheen said. 

“So what does that mean?” Thompson replied. “We’re trying to get the information. You said antifa is a terrorist organization. Tell us, as a committee, how did you come to that? How many members do they have in the United States, as of right now?”

Glasheen said the number is “very fluid” and that the investigation into the movement and its members is ongoing, comparing it to al-Qaeda and ISIS.

What is antifa?

Antifa is described as individuals who “view themselves as part of a protest tradition that arcs back to opposition groups in Nazi Germany and fascist Italy prior to World War II,” according to the Congressional Research Service. The movement is “decentralized, consisting of independent, radical, like-minded groups and individuals,” CRS noted.

Glasheen testified alongside Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who was grilled by lawmakers over the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

Thompson continued to press Glasheen for more information on the structure of the movement, saying he doesn’t want names but just wants to know how many people have been identified to be part of antifa.

“Well, the investigations are active,” Glasheen responded, pausing before closing his mouth. 

Thompson shook his head.

Mississippi Sen. John Horhn should be the next mayor of Jackson, Mississippi, U.S. House Rep. Bennie Thompson said in an official statement endorsing the state senator for the position on April 16, days before Horhn faces incumbent Mayor Chokwe A. Lumumba in the April 22 runoff.

“I have represented parts of Jackson both as Congressman and county supervisor and I’ve worked with mayors, from Dale Danks to Chokwe Lumumba, Sr. and Chokwe Antar Lumumba, the current mayor. Given the many challenges facing Jackson, I am convinced that John Horhn is better suited to handle these challenges. During lengthy talks with John, he shared his vision for the City of Jackson about crime, public safety, urban blight, housing, economic development and transportation,” Thompson said in an announcement on Wednesday.

The congressman represents Mississippi’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes Jackson and most of the Delta.

He is the latest official to throw their support behind Horhn. Mississippi House Rep. Zakiya Summers, a Jackson Democrat, and Mississippi House Rep. Earle Banks, another Jackson Democrat, have also endorsed the longtime senator and both attended Horhn’s Oct. 3, 2024, campaign launch at the Jackson medical mall.

The City of Jackson holds “tremendous potential” and needs “a leader who sees not only the problems but the possibilities, and John Horhn is that leader,” Summers said.

‘I Have Concerns’

Horhn garnered over 48% of the vote during the Democratic municipal primary election on April 1, while the incumbent, Chokwe A. Lumumba, received 17% of the vote, securing a runoff election to stay in the race.

“This campaign is about making sure that our city remains our city,” Lumumba said in a speech to his supporters the night of the primary election. The mayor—who will face trial next year for federal charges related to a bribery investigation—vowed to change what he called a “false narrative” around his administration.

Some voters have voiced concerns over whether city-controlled assets will be threatened under Horhn’s leadership; the senator has a relatively friendlier relationship with Republican state leaders than the incumbent. Still, Lumumba and Horhn have both stood in opposition to state-sponsored attempts to wrest away control of Jackson’s assets.

Thompson addressed that concern directly on Wednesday, saying that Horhn is “100% opposed to the State’s hostile takeover actions of the Jackson Medgar Wiley Evers International Airport.”

“I know that federal, state and local resources, along with private investments, are required to address Jackson’s many current problems and are essential for future long-term City of Jackson’s progress,” Thompson’s April 16 endorsement states. “After listening to and discussing with John his vision and plan, I encourage the voters of Jackson, MS to support John Horhn on April 22nd in the Democratic Primary Run-off Election.”

Earlier this month, the congressman avoided directly endorsing a mayoral candidate while talking with constituents during a town hall meeting. Instead, he told voters to look at the track records of the candidates before casting their ballots for mayor and city council representatives. 

“If people have a record, they need to run on that record. If it’s a bad record, you’re in trouble,” he said. “But you’ve got to defend it. I have concerns—I talk about it every day—but ultimately, the voters are the ones who are going to decide who will be the mayor and who will be the councilmen. The potholes, the crime, all of that is a concern.”

General Election Is June 3

The last day to vote in-person absentee is April 19. Municipal Clerk’s Offices around the state will be open from 8:00 a.m. until noon. After that, the only option for in-person voters will be on the day of the primary runoff: Tuesday, April 22.

All mail-in absentee ballots must be postmarked by April 22 and received by the Jackson Municipal Clerk’s Offices by 5:00 p.m. on April 30 in order to be counted, the Secretary of State’s office says.

Whoever wins the Democratic primary runoff election will face off against the winner of the Republican primary runoff and the Independent candidates for mayor during the general election on June 3.

You must be registered 30 days before an election to cast a ballot in Mississippi and must bring an accepted form of voter ID. More information on voter ID, including how to obtain a free voter ID, is available here.

For questions, contact the Elections Division at 1-800-829-6786, email ElectionsAnswers@sos.ms.gov, or visit YallVote.ms or contact your municipal clerk’s office directly.

As House Democrats overwhelmingly joined Republicans in rejecting the impeachment resolution, President Trump says, “Go ahead and try Impeaching me, again, MAKE MY DAY!”

Mississippi 2nd District Congressman Bennie Thompson was among 79 Democrats in the U.S. House to vote to pursue articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump (R) on Tuesday.

Thompson, who also supported both impeachment efforts during the President’s first term, joined fellow progressive Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jasmine Crockett, Rashida Talib, Ihan Omar, Ayanna Presley, and others on Tuesday in opposing the motion to table the impeachment resolution.

At the other end of the party spectrum was House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, both of whom were among the 128 Democrats who joined all Republicans in killing the resolution by a vote of 344 to 79.

The impeachment resolution was put forward by Texas Congressman Al Green after Trump ordered airstrikes on Iran’s three nuclear facilities, a move Green and other critics said was “illegal and unconstitutional.”

“In starting his illegal and unconstitutional war with Iran without the constitutionally mandated consent of Congress or appropriate notice to Congress, President Trump acted in direct violation of the War Powers Clause of the Constitution,” the article of impeachment stated.

On Saturday, Congressman Thompson condemned Trump’s order to strike Iran.

“Donald Trump launched strikes on Iran without Congressional approval. I condemn this illegal act of war,” Thompson wrote on social media. “This is something very serious that puts U.S. troops at risk and undermines our Constitution. We must stand against nuclear threats and dictators.”

Then on Monday, Thompson, the ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security Committee, took issue with the Department of Homeland Security issuing a National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin, saying, “To be clear, we are at an increased threat level today – and apparently for at least the next three months – because of Donald Trump’s actions in the Middle East.”

However, despite the talk from the party’s more progressive members, House Democratic leadership did not support Green’s impeachment and has thus far not pursued such actions against Trump as a caucus six months into the President’s second term.

President Trump responded to the impeachment resolution on Truth Social, laying the effort at the feet of Ocasio-Cortez, Omar and Crockett.

“Stupid AOC, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the ‘dumbest’ people in Congress, is now calling for my Impeachment, despite the fact that the Crooked and Corrupt Democrats have already done that twice before. The reason for her ‘rantings’ is all of the Victories that the U.S.A. has had under the Trump Administration,” Trump wrote. “The Democrats aren’t used to WINNING, and she can’t stand the concept of our Country being successful again. When we examine her Test Scores, we will find out that she is NOT qualified for office but, nevertheless, far more qualified than Crockett, who is a seriously Low IQ individual, or Ilhan Omar, who does nothing but complain about our Country, yet the Failed Country that she comes from doesn’t have a Government, is drenched in Crime and Poverty, and is rated one of the WORST in the World, if it’s even rated at all. How dare “The Mouse” tells us how to run the United States of America!”

President Trump concluded his post by saying, “She and her Democrat friends have just hit the Lowest Poll Numbers in Congressional History, so go ahead and try Impeaching me, again, MAKE MY DAY!”

It is the second time Congressman Green has sought to advance articles of impeachment against Trump in the past few months. The first attempt came in March after Green was removed by House Speaker Mike Johnson (R) during a joint session of Congress as the President spoke. Green sought to disrupt Trump’s remarks and would not refrain from shouting in the chamber as Johnson gaveled for order.

JACKSON, Miss. —

U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson visited the Bean Path in Jackson on Friday to support the nonprofit’s efforts in advancing technology and workforce training in Mississippi.

The Bean Path, founded by Dr. Nashlie Sephus, is located in the Jackson Tech District and provides technical advice and guidance through workshops, robotics, and coding to people of all ages.

“The city will grow, and we want to make sure the community isn’t left out of that growth,” Sephus said. “And also that we aren’t left behind when it comes to technology.”

After more than six years of bringing tech to the capital city, Thompson paid a special visit for the first time.

“I’m very impressed,” Thompson said. “I know a lot about this area. I’ve represented it for quite a while and I’ve seen the highs and the lows, and so now we are back moving toward the top.”

“We love it when our leaders and elected officials come to see the great work that we are doing right here at the Bean Path in downtown Jackson,” Sephus said. “Our need and passion for wanting to share workforce training, especially AI and tech all across Mississippi — the more people involved the better.”

Sephus said the Bean Path has helped many people get their certifications to help them in the job market. They have also helped young people and small businesses.

“The fact that they are now working with school districts and other nonprofits in the state means that other folks are paying attention too, so we just want to be a part of it and be as helpful as we can,” Thompson said.

Sephus said in the near future she would like to have the Bean Path in multiple locations across the state.

Dear Americans,

Throughout my time in Congress, I have had the privilege of serving under six United States
Presidents. However, it was a particularly profound honor for me to serve under President
Joe Biden. I was thrilled when he was elected because I believed he was a genuinely honest
man who would do everything in his power to guide America through the challenging times
we were facing. From that moment to the present, I can confidently say that President Joe
Biden has indeed done just that. His policies and efforts to support hardworking Americans
could not have come at a more crucial time. I want to express my gratitude to President Biden
for being a leader who prioritizes the needs of the American people over politics, the wealthy,
other authorities, or even himself. His selflessness and humility are truly commendable, and I
thank him for all that he has done for us.
As a senior member of the United States House of Representatives, I would like to publicly
endorse our Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic Presidential nominee. Madam
Vice President, I know you can carry us through the finish line.
To my fellow democrats and all Americans, for the past few weeks I have been focused on
spreading positivity and hope within our party. However, it’s now time for all of us to come
together and support our Vice-President as she faces a challenging battle. She needs to feel the
love and support of the people. We must put an end to the division within our party and fight
to protect our democracy from those who seek to destroy it. The time has come for us to
stand united as the people Joe and Kamala fight so hard for. Let’s show the other side who
we truly are when we stand united.
Finally, whatever you do, Keep the Faith!