May. 1, 2026, 6:00 AM EDT

ByRep. Delia RamirezandAndy Kang

As workers prepare to march in the streets on May Day, congressional Republicans are moving to use a budget reconciliation process to add $70 billion in new funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. No legitimate reform is attached. No oversight is required. And many of the people in the crosshairs of this expanded deportation machine are among the workers we march for on May Day.

This term, the Trump administration restarted worksite raids — enforcement actions the Biden administration had mostly paused — and aimed those raids at workers, not the employers exploiting them. Indeed, companies exploiting such workers are almost never held accountable. Thus, workers who fear deportation don’t report wage theft. They don’t report unsafe conditions. They don’t organize. Research on previous enforcement surges found that when immigration raids increase, the willingness of workers to make workplace injury complaints falls, and minimum wage violations rise — not only among immigrant workers but also among everyone working alongside them. The suppression spreads. The terror and its associated chilling effect are not a side effect; it’s the intended effect.

The $70 billion request is outrageous if for no other reason than we have already seen what the Trump administration does when it has unlimited resources and no accountability:  masked agents smashing car windows and grabbing parents in front of their children. The administration wants no guardrails against racial profiling. It wants no accountability for the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Prettitwo U.S. citizens shot dead during this year’s federal paramilitary surge in Minnesota. Republicans want to give ICE billions of dollars more even as it makes no effort to rein in White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, the architect of the administration’s mass deportation operation.

All the reasons above are why Rep. Delia Ramirez helped introduce the Melt ICE Actand they’re why we should see this May Day as not just another protest but as a reckoning. The bill would begin dismantling Trump’s expanded deportation machine. Not reform it. Not alter who oversees it. Dismantle it. Because the problem is not that ICE lacks accountability. It’s that an agency with so much money, so much power and so little oversight is designed for impunity. ICE is designed to be a vehicle for terror, not safety.

ICE’s total funding is already larger than the combined budgets of the FBI; the Drug Enforcement Administration; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and the U.S. Marshals. The administration has requested enough new funding to support the removal of one million people per year. That is not security. The administration is pushing for a domestic enforcement apparatus operating at a scale our country has never attempted, and $70 billion more would lock in such outrageous and disproportionate spending  for three more years.

To give the funding cover, Republicans will begin to advocate for any number of “immigration reform” bills that fail to meet the moment. Don’t be fooled. Republican efforts to advance these bills are not earnest. They are designed to give members facing competitive races something to point to while big corporations, profiteers and private interests rake in record profits from building out the enforcement machinery and exploiting workers fearing deportation. You fund the machine to hurt immigrants. You hold a press conference about reform to lie to workers.

On May Day, FIRM members in more than 30 states will march alongside labor unions and community organizations that understand what is at stake. They are marching while Republicans’ additional $70 billion hangs over their heads. They are marching because the same Congress that funds the raids and cuts working people’s programs and services also refuses to pass a real pathway to citizenship, which would give workers the legal standing to report abuse, organize and participate fully in the economy.

A true pathway to citizenship advanced in bills like the American Dream and Promise Act and the Renewing Immigration Provisions of the Immigration Act of 1929paired with the Melt ICE Act, is what would actually bring about change — not performative bills that are designed to fail. And not press conferences timed to election cycles. We need legislation that meets the scale of what is being built against immigrant communities and starts tearing it down. To pass immigration reform that truly meets the moment will require the power of the people and legislation endorsed by people-powered movements.

Immigrant workers helped build our country. They are still building our country. This May Day, they are marching for the right to stay in it, and we are introducing legislation to make sure they can.

May. 1, 2026, 5:00 AM EDT

Votes stretching on for hours. Spirited confrontations on the House floor. Rowdy committee hearings.

It was, in many respects, a chaotic week in the U.S. House of Representatives, as Republicans set out to tackle a number of key priorities that exposed deep divisions within their conference.

Last week, Rep. Troy Nehls, R-Texas, warned reporters they would be entering “hell week” come Monday.

By Wednesday, his prediction was ringing true. “We’re experiencing what hell week looks like,” Nehls said, standing on the Capitol steps with his signature cigar in hand. “We can’t really agree on much of anything.”

On that point, though, Nehls wasn’t as prophetic.

By the end of the week, Republicans were able to muscle through their to-do list, temporarily extending the U.S.’ warrantless spying powers, approving a budget blueprint for their multibillion-dollar immigration enforcement package, and passing a sprawling farm bill. The House even sent a bill to reopen the Department of Homeland Security to the president, finally ending a historic 76-day shutdown.

But at no point did Republicans make it look easy — a reality that’s fueling frustrations in the House GOP ranks, with some members directing their ire squarely at Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.

“It’s just been a mess,” one House Republican, who requested anonymity to discuss the internal dynamics, told MS NOW. “We haven’t really had any guidance or direction. We’re moving from one fire drill to the next every single week, and then half the time it feels like, why are we even here?”

The GOP lawmaker continued that while there’s “a lot of blame to go around,” Johnson deserves his fair share of it.

Asked if there are conversations behind the scenes about the House GOP’s future leadership, the lawmaker said: “They’re kind of beginning.”

Another House Republican didn’t hold back.

“Johnson’s appeasement to everyone across the conference has led us to a place of dysfunction,” Rep. Max Miller, R-Ohio, a second-term congressman who served in the first Trump administration, told MS NOW. “We are doing what is best for the country in the short term, but damaging it for the long term by breaking precedent after precedent.”

Miller added that Johnson is a “good man.”

“But you can’t run an organization this way,” he said.

Miller, who has lobbed criticism at Johnson in the past, said the speaker would have lost his gavel a while back, but Trump is in the White House.

“If it wasn’t for the administration, the speaker would have been vacated several months ago,” Miller said, referring to the motion-to-vacate mechanism to remove the speaker.

Of course, much of the consternation is due to a narrow and ideologically diverse conference. On a party-line vote — assuming full attendance and independent Rep. Kevin Kiley of California siding with the GOP — Republicans can only afford to lose two lawmakers.

“You’ve got a very diverse conference, you got a two-vote majority,” Rep. Greg Steube, R-Fla., said. “So it’s very difficult to get the votes across the line.”

Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., echoed that sentiment, telling reporters that the GOP is “not a party of people that just check our voting cards in.”

“We’re not a party that just does whatever leadership tells us to do,” he said. “And I think that that’s a good thing, like, the process should work that way.”

While Burlison may be giving his colleagues a bit too much credit — Republican members have repeatedly folded over the past 16 months when Trump and GOP leaders have pressed them — it’s true that Johnson’s conference frequently starts out divided.

Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., went for a visual description.

“Pleasing everybody appears like nailing Jell-O to a wall,” he said. “Different people have different constituencies with different things that are important to them. We’ve seen it right here.”

Another senior House Republican, requesting anonymity to discuss the sensitive conference dynamics, put it succinctly: “We win ugly.”

“That’s what happens when you have a small majority,” this person said.

That is something even Johnson can agree with.

Asked about the unhappiness in his ranks, the speaker told reporters on Thursday that when his members don’t get exactly what they ask for, tempers flare.

“Everybody didn’t get 100% of what they wanted,” Johnson said. “But we got what we needed, and so sometimes people get frustrated when they don’t get every single thing that they’ve asked for, but they work through it.”

Johnson added that after all the delays and false starts, House Republicans were leaving town this week in a great mood, “because they understand we got the job done in spite of the challenges.”

But to Democrats, all the happy talk ignores much of the chaos.

When MS NOW asked former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., about Johnson’s job performance, she had a simple assessment: “He’s making me look good.”

The difficulties of the GOP’s razor-thin majority have been on full display since the beginning of this Congress last January. But it was particularly apparent this week.

The dysfunction kicked off on Monday and Tuesday, as the House Rules Committee — the last stop for legislation before it heads to the floor — convened again and again for marathon markups, attempting to pave the way for floor consideration of a number of bills.

As one of the meetings stretched on, Norman, a member of the panel, dared Democrats to “drag it out as long as you want.”

“Let’s stay up all night!” he sarcastically exclaimed.

“I’m happy to oblige,” Rep. Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the panel, responded.

Democrats did oblige, with the hearing continuing for another two hours, until after 9 p.m. At one point, another GOP member on the panel — Rep. Austin Scott, R-Ga. — asked how much longer Democrats wanted to prolong the proceeding, wondering whether or not he should order dinner.

“You should always hydrate and you should always eat,” McGovern said.

When the Rules Committee finally reported its rule — a combined resolution setting up consideration for an extension of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, the GOP’s budget blueprint and the farm bill — House leaders had to hold the vote open for hours to get the votes they needed.

Once again, in the end, GOP leaders got the votes they needed. But they had to cut a deal on year-round ethanol-in-gas to adopt the rule.

That deal delayed an unrelated vote — and eventually created a whole set of new problems.

Shortly after the rule vote closed, Rep. Zach Nunn, R-Iowa, a member of the Agriculture Committee, loudly yelled for Johnson on the floor.

“Hey, Mr. Speaker, can we have a conversation?” Nunn shouted, loud enough for reporters watching from the gallery to hear.

After further conversations, Johnson was forced to pivot again, adding the farm bill back to the week’s agenda without an ethanol provision and with the assurance that he would hold a vote on that measure soon.

That promise eventually created even more headaches for Johnson.

“We had an agreement today and then you changed it!” Rep. Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a vocal conservative, yelled in front of reporters as he left a meeting with Johnson. “I’m going to go vote no!”

Hours later, the House began what was supposed to be a five-minute vote to approve the GOP’s budget blueprint. The vote remained open for more than five hours, as Johnson worked through the ethanol disagreements.

Finally, just after 10:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Johnson got the votes he needed.

While the week ended with Johnson holding his head up high, Republicans insist there should also be some shame.

Congress was only able to approve a 45-day extension of the U.S.’ warrantless spying powers. The broader fight will be awaiting lawmakers when they return to the Capitol in 12 days.

Republicans are also now racing to meet Trump’s June 1 deadline for their immigration enforcement package — a target that is quickly approaching. And that fight will almost certainly divide Republicans and expose new divisions.

But to House Republicans, that is par for the course.

“It was a little rough-and-tumble, but that’s the way the House is supposed to be,” Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., said Thursday.

“It’s a contact sport,” he added. “Either put your cup on or go home.”

Mychael Schnell is a reporter for MS NOW.

May. 1, 2026, 5:00 AM EDT

Ballistic glass. A bulletproof vest. Reimagined indoor events.

In the week since a gunman attempted to breach the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, President Donald Trump’s administration has been quietly rethinking how to protect a president who refuses to slow down.

On Monday, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles convened a meeting with the Secret Service leadership, Department of Homeland Security officials and the White House operations team, according to a White House official granted anonymity to speak about private conversations. The agenda focused chiefly on hardening security for Trump’s attendance at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, America 250 celebrations — including a UFC fight on the South Lawn of the White House — and midterm campaign rallies, according to an administration official familiar with the meeting.

The tension was visible immediately after the shooting: Trump wanted to return to the stage and address the crowd, but the Secret Service strongly recommended against that. Secret Service Director Sean Curran and the leader of the event’s security detail convinced him it was neither safe nor practical, according to four people familiar with the conversations who were granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Trump and his top aides have arrived at one firm conclusion: No future events will be canceled over security concerns — but they are being reimagined, according to the White House official.

Changes that are made — even those more obvious — will not receive much public explanation from the administration, said a former Trump White House official familiar with internal conversations about security.

“I know the sentiment on any vulnerabilities or changes to the security procedures won’t be publicized, and there is a desire not to publicly shame or reprimand the Secret Service,” the former official said.

Trump is personally fond of Curran, and does not want to damage the reputation of the organization, the former official said.

After the July 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, Secret Service officials recommended that Trump’s then-presidential re-election campaign halt outdoor rallies and events. The campaign briefly followed that guidance before resuming outdoor events a month later, adding bulletproof glass in front of the president’s podium.

White House officials are now considering whether to use bulletproof glass in front of the president’s podium indoors as well.

At a news conference Saturday evening, hours after the shooting, Trump was asked whether his security detail should rethink how it secures indoor events.

“Well then you just don’t do events,” Trump said. “No, I can’t do that. It is what it is, we have to do it.”

He also praised the Secret Service’s response. “I thought [Secret Service agents] were very impressive and if I didn’t, I’d let you know,” Trump said.

Despite Trump’s initial description of the Washington Hilton as “not a particularly secure building,” the White House’s messaging has been relatively buttoned up and affirmative of the security posture at the dinner. While taking questions on Thursday from reporters in the Oval Office, Trump, while commending the Secret Service’s efforts, acknowledged, “I think there’s always room for improvement, right?”

Another potentially visible change under consideration: Having Trump wear a bulletproof vest.

After reports emerged that the White House was weighing the measure, Trump did not rule it out Thursday but sounded a hesitant note.

“I don’t know if I can handle looking 20 pounds heavier,” Trump joked. “I’ve been asked about that, and I guess it’s something you consider. In one way, you don’t like to do it, because you’re, you’re giving into a bad element, and so I don’t know, but I have been asked about it.”

The Secret Service also began its own investigation on Monday, a sweeping internal review to determine if there were security lapses or a need to crack down on security protocols as a result of the breach. The evaluation, known as a Mission Assurance Review, is considered a way to learn lessons and improve future security.

“If adjustments need to be made to protect the president, they will be made,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a Monday briefing.

Trump, for his part, struck a somber, resigned tone in the immediate aftermath. When asked Saturday whether political violence had become an unavoidable feature of American public life, he replied, “Yeah, I think so.”

His top staff and security officials hope he is wrong.

Trump’s first trip away from the White House since the shooting will come Friday, when he travels to central Florida to speak at a charter school. The event will be a closely watched test of any adjustments to presidential security protocols, the former White House official said.

In response to a request for comment, White House spokesman Davis Ingle said Trump “ has full confidence in the brave men and women of the Secret Service and all law enforcement who put their lives on the line every day — just as they did heroically on the night of the White House Correspondents Dinner.”