Tipsheet

House Democrats' Statement on Rep. McIver Being Federally Charged Is Downright Laughable

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  May 20, 2025 9:30 AM

On Monday night, as Matt covered, Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-NJ) was federally charged after she and other Democratic colleagues, including Reps. Robert Menendez, Jr. (D-NJ) and Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ), tried to storm an ICE detention center in Newark earlier this month. Despite what House Democrats said to try and protect McIver, even using concerning language, the video footage was not a good look for the congresswoman, which the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) released not long after the incident. Sure enough, House Democratic leadership released a lengthy statement, which is as laughable as you'd expect.

That same night as federal charges were announced, House Democratic leadership, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Whip Katherine Clark (D-MA), Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar (D-CA) Vice Chair Ted Lieu (D-CA), and Assistant Leader Joe Neguse (D-CO) released a joint statement. 

"The criminal charge against Congresswoman LaMonica McIver is extreme, morally bankrupt and lacks any basis in law or fact," their statement began, although the charge laid out by Acting U.S. Attorney Alina Habba for the District of New Jersey was quite clear in laying out the charge, explaining that McIver "assaulted, impeded, and interfered with law enforcement in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 111(a)(1)" and that "[t]hat conduct cannot be overlooked by the chief federal law enforcement in the State of New Jersey..."

"Members of Congress have a constitutional responsibility to conduct oversight of the executive branch wherever and whenever it is needed. We are lawfully permitted to show up at any federal facility unannounced to conduct an inspection on behalf of the American people. By visiting the detention center in Newark, Rep. McIver and two other Members of Congress were upholding their oath of office. They didn’t assault anyone, but were themselves aggressively mistreated by illegally masked individuals," the statement from the Democratic leaders continues, despite how video footage appears to show otherwise. There are also steps to touring the facility, which the lawmakers don't seem to grasp, given the entitlement in their statement. 

"Shortly after the alleged altercation took place, administration officials escorted Congressmembers LaMonica McIver, Bonnie Watson Coleman and Rob Menendez on a tour of the detention center that lasted approximately an hour. There is no credible evidence that Rep. McIver engaged in any criminal activity, and she would not have been permitted to tour the facility had she done anything wrong," the statement goes on to further claim, saying much of the same. 

The statement also continues by going after the Trump administration and Habba. "The proceeding initiated by the so-called U.S. Attorney in New Jersey is a blatant attempt by the Trump administration to intimidate Congress and interfere with our ability to serve as a check and balance on an out-of-control executive branch. House Democrats will not be intimidated by the Trump administration. Not today. Not ever," the lawmakers wrote. Habba may be an acting U.S. attorney, but that doesn't mean she should be referred to as "so-called," unless the lawmakers wish to communicate blatant partisanship with the tantrum they're throwing with such a statement. 

"Everyone responsible for this illegitimate abuse of power is going to be held accountable for their actions. An attack on one of us is an attack on the American people. House Democrats will respond vigorously in the days to come at a time, place and manner of our choosing," the statement concludes by previewing.

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If that statement doesn't sound foreboding enough, recall that Jeffries last week appeared to issue a threat to federal agents when speaking to Fox News' Chad Pergram, as he was asked what would happen if the three members were punished with arrest, as he kept saying "they'll find out," referring to federal officials. Jeffries stuck to this response, and kept cutting Pergram off to repeat those words. 

He went on to shout that arrest would be "a red line," and he refused to clarify further, as he once more repeated himself. Jeffries then went on to insult the Department of Homeland Security spokesperson as "a joke."

The House Democrats mentioned above weren't the only ones responding with such nonsense takes. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) also went with the "red line" language, though he used all caps for emphasis in in his Monday post over X, which was a quoted repost of Habba, and one filled with expletives, from his official account. 

"We must take whatever we’ve done before to show dissent and go ONE RUNG HIGHER," Swalwell warned. "And save your bulls**t documents on this, Alina. You’ll need them when you testify," he added, though the congressman did not censor himself.