1. United States
2. Mass.
3. Letter

Dear Members of the House Democratic Caucus, Speaker Mike Johnson has blood on his hands — politically and morally — and House Democrats should say so plainly. By refusing to meet, refusing to hold hearings, and refusing to allow oversight of ICE’s escalating use of force, the Speaker is not a bystander. He is an enabler. His inaction makes him as responsible for what is happening as the officials designing and executing these policies. Mike Johnson should be named alongside Donald Trump, Stephen Miller, and Kristi Noem. He belongs in that group. The distinction Democrats continue to draw between the executive branch and congressional leadership only shields him from accountability he does not deserve. The House of Representatives is not powerless. Oversight is not symbolic. When the Speaker blocks it, he is actively choosing impunity for federal law enforcement. That choice has consequences, and those consequences are now measured in human harm. Democrats should stop making polite overtures that are designed to be rejected. You should state clearly and repeatedly that: • Speaker Johnson is refusing oversight • That refusal directly enables unchecked ICE operations • And that he is therefore complicit in the outcomes we are now witnessing Mike Johnson is accessible in a way Trump is not. He depends on the House’s legitimacy. If pressure is applied where the system is weakest, the system responds. If it is not, escalation continues. If the House cracks, it will be because its leadership chose loyalty over law. History will record that choice clearly