Congress
Judge restores lawmakers’ unfettered access to ICE detention facilities
The Department of Homeland Security may not bar members of Congress from making unannounced visits to ICE detention facilities, a federal judge ruled Monday, blocking a policy imposed in January by Secretary Kristi Noem requiring a week’s notice before lawmakers could gain access.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb ruled that Noem’s policy was crafted with funds that Congress specifically said could not be used to impede lawmakers’ visits to detention facilities, even if those visits are not announced in advance. And she rejected DHS’ claim that it had relied on alternative funding sources to craft and implement the policy — namely the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which directed unprecedented sums toward DHS operations.
“The Court agrees that these funds are indeed staggering,” Cobb wrote in the 44-page ruling. “But the power of the purse rests with Congress, and even a deep-pocketed agency must comply with Congress’s restrictions on the permissible uses of appropriated funds.”
It was Cobb’s third time blocking or limiting the reach of Noem’s efforts to prevent unannounced lawmaker visits. In December, the Biden-appointed judge blocked the policy in response to a lawsuit filed by Rep. Joe Neguse (D-Colo.) and a dozen other lawmakers who sued, claiming their efforts to visit detention facilities had been illegally blocked.
But in January, when members of Congress attempted to access an ICE facility in Minnesota in the wake of the fatal shooting of Renee Good — one of them even wielding a paper copy of Cobb’s opinion — ICE blocked them again. Noem had issued a new version of the policy, claiming to fund it with the unrestricted funds of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Last month, Cobb again sided with the lawmakers, granting an emergency ruling that allowed Neguse and the dozen other plaintiffs to regain unfettered access to ICE facilities.
This time, Cobb’s ruling will block enforcement of the policy altogether, restoring full access to ICE detention facilities for all members of Congress. Cobb said her latest ruling was strengthened by the fact in recent months, “ICE’s enforcement and detention practices have become the focus of intense national and congressional interest.”
Cobb separately rejected claims that the ongoing shutdown of DHS funding should influence her ruling. Though appropriations for the department have lapsed, she said the agency’s leadership structure is still operating on funding provided by annual appropriations bills — which include the requirement for lawmakers to have unrestricted access to ICE detention centers.
The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Attorneys who backed the Democratic lawmakers’ effort to regain access to ICE facilities hailed the ruling as a win for transparency and to expose what they say are cruel and inhumane conditions inside detention centers.
“Today’s ruling makes it clear that Secretary Noem cannot operate detention facilities in the shadows or silence elected officials who are doing their job,” said Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward. “The court has once again affirmed that oversight is not optional, transparency is not negotiable, and human rights do not disappear at the doors of a detention center.”
The House committee charged with investigating Jeffrey Epstein has released more than nine hours of video footage from last week’s closed-door depositions with Bill and Hillary Clinton.
The former president and secretary of State testified in compliance with congressional subpoenas to members of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, where they were grilled at a performing arts center in Chappaqua, New York, over what they recall about Epstein and his longtime co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell.
The committee asked Bill Clinton, who testified last Friday, about the photos he appeared in as part of the Justice Department’s Epstein files release and the relationship Epstein had with the Clinton Global Initiative.
Asked about President Donald Trump’s relationship with Epstein, Bill Clinton told the committee he recalled Trump saying the two had “a falling out over a land-deal, property deal.”
“He said, ‘I’m sorry it happened,’ that’s all,” the former president said, referring to Trump.
Rep. Robert Garcia of California, the top Democrat on the panel, asked whether he believed Trump should answer the committee’s questions, Bill Clinton responded, “That’s for you to decide.”
He added: “But he did know him well, and I once had a brief discussion with [Trump] about it.”
Trump has denied the accusations and has insisted he cut off ties with Epstein years before the convicted sex offender was put in jail.
Bill Clinton has maintained he had no knowledge of Epstein’s sex crimes and that he severed ties with the disgraced financier years prior to his arrest in 2019. Hillary Clinton, whose interview was the day before, insisted she didn’t recall ever meeting Epstein and considered Maxwell a casual acquaintance.
Neither of the Clintons have been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein.
But Republicans considered their testimony critical to their probe. Bill Clinton has been featured heavily in the Epstein files released by the Justice Department, and some in the GOP have sought to make him an alternative bogeyman to Trump, who also had a rapport with Epstein.
Their depositions also came just as Democrats on the Oversight panel announced an investigation into whether the DOJ withheld or took down materials from its database around allegations that Trump sexually assaulted a minor.
Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) announced on Monday he will not run for reelection, the latest House Republican to retire ahead of the midterms.
The former Interior secretary said in a letter to constituents released on Monday that health issues motivated his decision to leave Washington. Zinke said he’s undergone “multiple surgeries” since returning to Congress in 2023 to correct injuries sustained during his time as a Navy SEAL.
“The injuries sustained from a career in Special Operations are not immediately life threatening, but the repair cannot be deferred any longer and recovery will require considerable time with Lola and the family,” Zinke said in the letter. “My judgement and experience tell me it is better for Montana and America to have full-time representation in Congress than run the risk of uncertain absence and missed votes.”
Zinke’s decision to wait until next year to leave Washington will likely be viewed as a gift to House Republican leadership, as they navigate the duration of the current Congress with a slim majority.
His retirement could make Montana’s 1st District more competitive for Democrats in November. House Democrats had been targeting the district prior to Zinke’s announcement.
The House is toughening its security as the U.S. continues its war with Iran.
In a Monday letter to House offices, House Sergeant at Arms William McFarland said, “There will be heightened security measures and a noticeable increased police presence across the U.S. Capitol campus.”
“While the USCP has not identified any specific or credible threats, these measures have been put in place out of an abundance of caution,” he added.
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