Rep. Pramila Jayapal used a Valentine’s Day Instagram Live to walk supporters through what she described as an alarming week in Washington—one that mixed oversight drama, ongoing fallout from the Epstein files release, and a funding fight over immigration enforcement agencies.

Jayapal opened on a personal note, greeting viewers and wishing them a happy Valentine’s Day, before laying out three topics she said demanded attention: what she called Department of Justice “spying” on members of Congress, the status of the Epstein files and survivor concerns, and the push for sweeping accountability reforms for DHS agencies including ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), amid a newly begun funding lapse.

Claim of DOJ “spying” on lawmakers

Jayapal said she was stunned to see Attorney General Pam Bondi arrive at a House Judiciary Committee hearing carrying a binder that appeared to include her “search history” from a controlled review of Epstein-related records. Jayapal described a secure DOJ room where members of Congress were allowed to review largely unredacted material, four lawmakers at a time, on a limited number of computers with DOJ staff present. She said each member was logged in with unique credentials and later concluded those logins were used to record what documents she searched and opened.

According to Jayapal, photographs taken during the hearing showed a document labeled with her name and search history, and she alleged DOJ staff time was used to print and summarize her searches for Bondi. Jayapal argued that even if DOJ claimed routine tracking, lawmakers should have been clearly informed. She framed the issue as a separation-of-powers problem, warning that if the government is monitoring congressional activity in this way, ordinary citizens should also be concerned about how their data might be handled.

Jayapal said she spoke with House Speaker Mike Johnson, noting he publicly called the situation inappropriate. She also said she and other Democrats—joined by Reps. Jamie Raskin and Robert Garcia—sent Bondi a letter demanding an end to the practice, answers about how broadly it occurred, whether the records are still being retained, and an explanation of the intent behind collecting the information. She added that some Republicans, including Reps. Thomas Massie and Nancy Mace, had also raised concerns, and she signaled interest in bipartisan action to curb surveillance.

Epstein files: survivors, redactions, and what comes next

Jayapal then turned to the Epstein files and repeatedly emphasized support for survivors. She described coordinating with survivors ahead of Bondi’s testimony so they would not feel “used as a prop,” and said her questioning focused on two issues: survivors’ names being exposed while names of powerful alleged perpetrators remained redacted. She recalled asking survivors in the hearing to stand and raise their hands if they had not met with the Trump administration’s DOJ—she said all raised their hands—and she said Bondi declined to apologize.

Jayapal also described the material she’s read as disturbing and said it has affected her personally, including nightmares. She asserted that the documents reflect a culture of impunity among wealthy and influential people, and she vowed not to “move on” until more names are unredacted and millions of remaining documents are released.

To speed that effort, Jayapal said she is crowdsourcing help from the public: she encouraged people to send her document numbers they want her to re-check in the unredacted system, comparing what the public sees to what lawmakers can view.

ICE, CBP, DHS—and a funding fight

Finally, Jayapal connected the week’s oversight battles to immigration enforcement. Drawing on her background as an immigrant-rights advocate and her current role as the top Democrat on the House immigration subcommittee, she argued ICE and CBP have grown into powerful agencies with too little accountability since the creation of DHS after 9/11. She criticized the use of detention facilities run by private companies and said the country is detaining tens of thousands of immigrants nightly.

Jayapal said Democrats are using what leverage they have to demand major reforms before providing more DHS funding. Among the changes she listed: ending what she called “surges” of ICE agents, restricting CBP operations in the interior, and requiring judicial warrants—rather than administrative immigration warrants—for arrests and enforcement actions. She also criticized a reported plan to spend tens of billions on expanded detention capacity, contrasting that spending with other national needs.

Jayapal closed by urging sustained civic engagement, emphasizing love, solidarity, and nonviolent but forceful organizing—arguing that “people power” is the only force strong enough to confront what she views as escalating abuses of government authority.