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Axios – Axios Hill Leaders
Published January 12, 2026
- By Hans Nichols
Happy Monday! Tonight’s edition is 862 words, 3.5 minutes.
- 🧊 Dems’ coming ICE war
- 😳 Big 4 reacts to Powell probe
- 🎣 “America First” meets “Alaska First”
1 big thing: 🧊 Dems’ coming ICE war
The “defund ICE” banner that progressives brandished during President Trump’s first term is now starting to take hold among the more moderate wings of the Democratic Party.
Why it matters: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has long signaled that resurrecting Affordable Care Act tax credits has priority in the government funding fight. But some of his members are clearly spoiling for a fight over ICE.
- “We need funding reductions. … Policy is not enough,” said Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), who stressed that “‘defund’ and ‘abolish’ are two different things.”
- Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), a leading member of the center-left New Democrat Coalition, said he is “totally open” to trying to reduce ICE’s funding.
Zoom in: Jeffries finally waded into the ICE funding debate during his regular press conference today.
- “They’re running around out of control, with masks, no body cameras, no accountability, no warrants, arresting and in some cases deporting American citizens,” Jeffries told reporters.
- “It’s important to understand that a lot of the funding for ICE that is currently being unleashed on the American people … was provided not through the traditional appropriations process, but in connection with the one big, ugly bill,” he said.
- Rep. John Mannion (D-N.Y.), a swing-district centrist, noted the “big, beautiful bill” that became law nearly tripled ICE’s funding: “I would support reducing that funding back to fiscal year 2024 levels if I could.”
The other side: Some centrist Democrats — while signaling they would support policy changes — drew a clear line in the sand against defunding ICE.
- “I don’t know if we need to defund ICE,” said Rep. Vicente Gonzalez Jr. (D-Texas), who said the agency has been “overly funded” but that “we don’t have the votes for that anyway.”
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