2WAY Tonight with Mark Halperin "It's Despicable What You've Done!" GOP Senators Torch Minn. Democratic AG Ellison Over ICE Protests
Feb 13, 2026
Chet Love, GOP strategist and former policy advisor, offers conservative campaign perspective. Jim Kessler, center-left policy expert and Third Way co-founder, analyzes Democratic positioning. Hans Nichols, seasoned political reporter, brings on-the-ground Capitol Hill and national security reporting. They debate the ICE surge rollback, heated Senate clashes over Minnesota protests, political fallout and prospects for compromise.
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'Fake' Shutdown Leaves ICE Funded
- The partial shutdown mainly spares ICE funding, reducing Republican urgency to avoid it.
- Key DHS components like FEMA, TSA, and Coast Guard face real funding risks despite rhetoric.
Reasonable Reforms, Costly Politics
- Democrats' ten ICE reforms read as reasonable to most voters and poll strongly.
- Political incentives and base backlash make compromise slow and costly for Democrats.
Turn Optics Into Leverage
- Time favors Senate Democrats; public outrage and optics pressure the White House to recalibrate.
- Use the Minnesota withdrawal and troop pullback to push for negotiated ICE changes.