Whitehouse Votes for Funding Package that Opens Pathway to Curbing ICE, Delivers $61.65 Million Direct Investment in RI

Democrats successfully pressured Republican majority to back off plan to hand ICE a year-long appropriation

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse today voted to pass a package of five fiscal year 2026 appropriations bills, sending the legislation to the House. The package also includes stopgap funding for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for the next two weeks while Democrats work aggressively to pass legislation to address abuses by the department. Whitehouse had previously insisted that he would not vote in favor of the funding package unless Republicans separated the DHS bill from the other five appropriations bills.

After two Minnesota residents were killed by federal agents, Democrats pressured the Republican Senate majority to cleave off the DHS appropriation. The measure passed today funds FEMA, the Coast Guard, and other DHS agencies for two weeks while Congress negotiates needed reforms to ICE.

Whitehouse voted today for an amendment offered by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) to strip ICE of the $75 billion in funding the agency received in the Republican-passed reconciliation bill last year and redirect the money toward undoing some of the Medicaid cuts included in that legislation. The amendment failed.

"Democrats had a big win when we successfully stripped full-year funding for the Department of Homeland Security out of this appropriations package, and we will keep up the pressure for more wins to end DHS rogue behavior and introduce real accountability," said Whitehouse. "Freeing up these five appropriations bills gives us stronger leverage to demand ICE reforms, and opens up our best available avenue to curb the heinous abuses by Trump's Department of Homeland Security."

Whitehouse secured 50 investments - totaling $61,655,000 - for the Ocean State in the five appropriations bills. Those earmarks fund strategic investments in Rhode Island health care, education, small business development, and infrastructure. Many of the earmarks were secured in partnership with Senator Jack Reed, Congressman Seth Magaziner, and Congressman Gabe Amo. The full list of these Whitehouse projects is available here.

The package also included the largest increase in mandatory federal funding for community health centers in a decade, totaling $4.6 billion through the end of the year. Community health centers provide care to about one in five Rhode Islanders. Whitehouse previously secured $27,790,000 to support a total of 23 Rhode Island projects in the minibus funding bill signed into law earlier this month.