Why John Fetterman won't shut the government down over ICE even after calling for Kristi Noem's ouster

Fallon Roth, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Jan 28, 2026

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Sen. John Fetterman hates government shutdowns.

The Pennsylvania Democrat has never backed a lapse in government funding since he took office in 2023.

And this aversion does not appear to be changing anytime soon as the country is staring down the possibility of a second shutdown in roughly four months starting at the end of this week. Fetterman is facing public pressure from constituents and fellow Pennsylvania Democrats to join the party’s effort to block funding for the Department of Homeland Security from a government appropriations package in the wake of federal immigration agents shooting and killing two 37-year-olds in Minneapolis this month.

Blocking the package would set off a partial government shutdown.

“I will never vote to shut our government down, especially our Defense Department,” Fetterman said in a statement on Monday, which is one of the agencies that is relying on the pending appropriations package.

Even so, Fetterman thinks that changes are needed to President Donald Trump’s immigration strategy. He urged Trump to fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and he said immigration agents’ presence in Minneapolis needs to “immediately end,” after federal agents shot and killed two Americans this month.

Fetterman has suggested removing DHS funding from the package under consideration as a compromise, but Senate Republican leaders are unlikely to do that.

In October, ahead of the longest shutdown in history, he voted for both Democratic and Republican plans to keep the government open.

If a partial government shutdown kicks off Friday, impacted agencies include the Departments of State, Treasury, Health and Human Services, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development.

With a partial government shutdown potentially just days away, here’s what to know about Fetterman’s stance.

Why won’t Fetterman join Democrats in blocking funding for DHS?

Senate Democrats have said they won’t support funding for DHS in wake of the killings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti this month by federal immigration agents in Minneapolis. DHS oversees ICE and the Border Patrol, the two agencies involved in the fatal shootings.

Democrats have also signaled that they want major reforms to federal agents’ conduct as they carry out Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda.

Fetterman said this week that he spent “significant time hearing many different positions on the funding bills,” but will still never vote to shut the government down.

Further, he thinks shutting down the government over ICE won’t have much of an impact at all.

ICE and border enforcement operations are still likely to be operational even during a shutdown, CBS News reported. Agents have typically been considered essential employees.

“A vote to shut our government down will not defund ICE,” Fetterman wrote in a statement this week, noting that DHS received $178 billion in funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which Fetterman opposed.

Why did Fetterman call for Kristi Noem to be fired?

On Tuesday, Fetterman made a direct plea to Trump: Fire Noem.

“Americans have died,“ Fetterman wrote in a post on X. ”She is betraying DHS’s core mission and trashing your border security legacy.”

The Pennsylvania Democrat also tried to appeal to Trump by criticizing former President Joe Biden’s DHS secretary, Alejandro Mayorkas, saying: “DO NOT make the mistake President Biden made for not firing a grossly incompetent DHS Secretary.”

An increasing number of lawmakers and advocacy groups have called for Noem’s ouster, including Republican U.S. Sens. Thom Tillis, of North Carolina, and Lisa Murkowski, of Alaska.

Fetterman had previously joined six other Democrats in voting to confirm Noem’s nomination for DHS secretary last year, including Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey. (Kim has also called for Noem to be fired).

What constituents and elected officials are saying

The pressure on Fetterman from colleagues and constituents appears to be growing.

Every Democratic member of Pennsylvania’s U.S. House delegation cosigned a letter on Tuesday calling for Fetterman and Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., to vote against DHS funding, The Inquirer reported.

“We urge you to stand with us in opposing any DHS funding bill that does not include critical reforms,” the lawmakers said in the letter, delivered Tuesday. “We look forward to working together to advance legislation that both keeps our nation secure and upholds our fundamental values.”

Meanwhile, around 150 protesters gathered in front of Fetterman’s Philadelphia office in freezing temperatures on Tuesday to urge him to vote against the funding.

“What do we want? ICE out,” the crowd chanted.