Ice, ICE…Maybe? 

As Washington, D.C., struggles with street cleanup days after a paralyzing winter storm, the two big questions in the nation’s capital are whether the roads will be clear and whether there will be a government shutdown over funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). To paraphrase a great poet of my youth, the best answer is probably…Ice? ICE? Maybe.

Last year’s extended government shutdown was resolved when Congress agreed to fund the government through the end of January. Until last weekend, it looked like Congress would renew that funding before the deadline, keeping the government open in the process. But after two separate fatal shootings of Americans by immigration agents, Senate Democrats are making noises about refusing to vote for any bill that doesn’t make changes to immigration enforcement. 

“I will vote no on any legislation that funds ICE until it is reined in and overhauled,” the Senate’s Democratic Leader, Chuck Schumer (D–N.Y.), said. “Senate Democrats are overwhelmingly united on this issue.” 

What does it mean to be “reined in and overhauled?” Democrats have a list, which, according to Politico, includes a “prohibition on agents using masks, mandates for body cameras and IDs and a ‘uniform code of conduct and accountability,’ including requiring independent investigations of incidents like Saturday’s fatal shooting of Alex Pretti.” 

The problem for Democrats is that these changes need buy-in from Republicans, including additional votes and procedural requirements. It’s not at all clear that Republicans will agree before the deadline. If they don’t, it’s shutdown o’clock. 

It’s worth remembering that after last year’s GOP megabill boosted agency funding by nearly $20 billion annually, ICE became the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency. The Republican bill not only boosted agency funding, it also did so with very little oversight, essentially cutting the agency a giant check to spend as it pleased. 

That paved the way for the aggressive enforcement tactics on display in blue states and cities all over the country, including Minneapolis, where two American citizens have been killed by immigration enforcement agents this month. 

That may sound like an argument for defunding ICE. But don’t get your hopes up. Even Republicans who voted against the boosted funding last year don’t want to go quite that far. “I don’t want to defund ICE,” Sen. Rand Paul (R–Ky.) said, according to The New York Times. “But I’m not sure I want to give them billions and billions more without any kind of signs of, there are going to be some rules of the game.”

Meanwhile, both agents who fired during Alex Pretti’s shooting have been put on leave, according to a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino has been moved out of command of the Minneapolis enforcement surge, with President Donald Trump saying he’s a “pretty out there kind of guy.” And border czar Tom Homan has been put in charge of the operation. Trump also said, “We’re going to de-escalate a little bit.” 

Yet by the end of Wednesday, Trump had already gone back to feuding with local officials in Minnesota, while White House communications officials blamed Democrats for Pretti’s death. “This tragedy occurred as a result of a deliberate and hostile resistance by Democrat leaders in Minnesota,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. So much for de-escalation. 

$1,000 per kid. Trump also released more details about the plan to give every newborn $1,000. Like the boosted ICE funding, these accounts were also included in last year’s GOP megabill. Every infant is eligible, so long as their parent opens an account. Maybe I should have headlined this newsletter “Ice, ICE, Babies” after all. 

The money goes into stocks, which can be accessed when the child becomes an adult. JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America have already said they’ll match the deposits, which are being referred to as Trump Accounts. Somehow, rapper Nicki Minaj is involved, so you know it’s all very serious. 

Scenes from Washington, D.C. Outside of Metro, which is using fire snakes that are definitely not Dungeons and Dragons spells to heat the tracks, the city’s response to last weekend’s storm has been hilariously—if predictably—inept. Roads in the Dupont Circle area, where Reason‘s office is located, remained covered in ice and muddy slush on Wednesday, days after the storm. On the one hand, D.C. has no idea what to do with snow. But a giant, ugly slush pile suddenly appearing not far from the White House? You’d think this city would have that down. 

QUICK HITS

• Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D–Minn.) has launched her campaign for governor of Minnesota. 
• Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney wasn’t kidding when he described the current state of global trade as a “rupture.” “To be absolutely clear, and I said this to the president, I meant what I said in Davos,” he told reporters. “Canada was the first country to understand the change in U.S. trade policy that he initiated, and we’re responding to that.”
• “Time is running out,” Trump warns Iran.
• The Fed is not doing anything. 
• There’s another big storm headed for the East Coast. The slush piles will continue until morale improves. 
• ​​“So I would ask you, if a foreign country bombed our air defense missiles, captured and removed our president, and blockaded our country, would that be considered an act of war?” Rand Paul grills Secretary of State Marco Rubio. 
• Barry Diller wants to buy CNN. 
• “It would not be inconsistent to have the words ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ appear at the end, perhaps with the libertarian porcupine rather than Gadsden’s original rattlesnake.” Fun piece on whether the hero of the (excellent) Apple show Pluribus is a libertarian. 
• Inception, Clueless, and The Karate Kid have been added to the National Film Registry.