Montgomery County’s top officials are divided on ICE and potential Trump administration funding cuts, but they say they’ll ‘put politics aside’
At the annual State of the County Address, the commissioners acknowledged divisions but pledged to work together.
It was a portrait of amicable disagreement.
Talking to reporters gathered at the front of an auditorium at Montgomery County Community College, the collar county’s top officials engaged in a friendly back-and-forth about something local leaders have had to pay unprecedented attention to since last year: how to handle any future federal funding cuts under President Donald Trump.
Within the last year, counties have navigated uncertainty surrounding reductions in funding under the Trump administration. In Montgomery County, those cuts have jeopardized key resources for public health, higher education, and homeless services.
“Naturally, our teams are following what’s coming out of [the Department of Housing and Urban Development], what’s happening with SNAP. We’re trying to anticipate,” said Jamila Winder, a Democrat and the chair of the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners.
Community needs “that arise from the cuts to SNAP and the cuts to Medicaid are significant,” said vice chair Neil Makhija, a Democrat.
Tom DiBello, the board’s lone Republican, had a different view.
“Well, we also have to maybe look at what those reductions are, why those reductions are occurring … and I know this is where we divide,” he said.
Crossing the aisle has become rare in the rancorous national political environment. But at Montgomery County Community College on Wednesday, the commissioners emphasized at their annual State of the County address that they are striving for cooperation to be their norm, even as lawmakers in Harrisburg and Washington struggle to work together.
The commissioners have navigated their own tense moments in recent months, particularly related to immigration.
“Look, there are definitely things that we disagree on as a team, but what’s most important is that we’re able to fund the services that we provide to people in Montgomery County,” Winder told reporters.
Wednesday’s address featured the commissioners reflecting on the county’s accomplishments in 2025 and outlining their goals for the year ahead to an audience of constituents and officials. Those include opening shelters for people experiencing homelessness, determining how to best integrate artificial intelligence in county services, and cutting red tape for residents trying to access local services.
And it was also sprinkled with displays of camaraderie despite political differences, such as the commissioners touting 2026’s bipartisan budget as the first in nearly a decade or DiBello going in for a hug after turning the microphone over to Winder for her closing remarks.
“If there’s one thing I want you to take away from today, it’s this: Under our collective leadership as commissioners, this board will continue to put politics aside to do what’s best for our communities,” Winder said at the address, of which the theme was “collaboration.”
But their interactions have not always fit the cordial image presented Wednesday.
During a board of commissioners meeting in July, Winder accused DiBello of lacking empathy after 14 people were taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in West Norriton.
Winder and Makhija called for ICE agents to be held accountable, while DiBello encouraged respect for law enforcement and denounced the incorporation of politics into the meeting.
“People are being terrorized by masked ICE agents in Montgomery County, that’s what we’re saying. And if you can’t be empathetic to that, that’s disconcerting,” Winder said at the time.
“No matter what, we should be respecting our law enforcement agencies until they break the law,” DiBello responded.
On Wednesday, immigration-related disagreements lingered when Makhija told reporters about his opposition to ICE buying warehouses in Pennsylvania, including in Berks County, that may be used to detain people.
“Again we divide, because I will support the rule of law,” DiBello said on immigration enforcement. ”I stand with law enforcement, and if people want changes, they need to go to Washington and ask and promote those changes."