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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

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries speaks during a news conference today. Photo: Heather Diehl / Getty Images

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.” 

Continue/Read Original Article Here: Axios Hill Leaders

#AffordableCareAct #AttackOnFederalReserve #Axios #AxiosHillLeaders #Defund #Defunding #DefundingICE #FederalReserve #HakeemJeffries #ICEWar #ImmigrationAndCustomsEnforcementICE #JeromePowell

Axios Hill Leaders

The Washington Monument is visible as House Speaker Mike Johnson (center) leads a news conference with other GOP congressional leaders. Photo: Andrew Harnik / Getty Images

Axios Hill Leaders

October 07, 2025

• By Hans Nichols

Newsy edition tonight! 917 words, 3.5 minutes.

• 🤕 The real pain begins
• 👀 Scoop: Dems dig in
• 🥊 Shutdown messaging ground zero

🚨 Situational awareness: After a batch of 107 Trump nominee confirmations tonight, Senate Republicans have now surpassed the tally at this point in the Biden administration. Go deeper.

1 big thing: 🤕 The real pain begins

The Washington Monument is visible as House Speaker Mike Johnson (center) leads a news conference with other GOP congressional leaders. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Lawmakers are talking tough. But for many federal workers, Friday is their last (and incomplete) payday for the indefinite future.

• Why it matters: Both parties on the Hill are eyeing key pressure points in the coming days to force the other side to cave.

They won’t have to look too hard.

• In the next four to five days, PresidentTrump has threatened another round of federal government layoffs.
• Friday, Oct. 10: Federal workers get their last paychecks for work in September. All work starting Oct. 1 is unpaid until the shutdown ends (more on that below).
• Monday, Oct. 13: The Senate was scheduled to kick off a recess week. Fundraisers, campaigning, in-state events and media, surgeries, and other important personal events will likely need to be rescheduled or canceled.
• Wednesday, Oct. 15: U.S. troops will miss paychecks.
• Over the next week or so, the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) may run out of funding, leaving moms and children without needed food assistance. The White House says it has found funding to keep the program afloat longer, as Axios scooped today.
• Saturday, Oct. 18: No Kings protests are planned across the country. GOP leaders have been raising their concerns that Democrats will feel political pressure to hold out on funding the government until after the protests.
• Monday, Oct. 20: Senate staff will miss their first whole paycheck — even as senators continue to be paid.
• Friday, Oct. 31: House staff will miss paychecks, even as their bosses continue to be paid.

The big picture: Trump is turning up the temperature even more over back pay for federal workers.

• “It depends on who you’re talking about,” he said today when asked about the White House memo — scooped by Axios’ Marc Caputo — that suggested back pay was not guaranteed after a shutdown for furloughed workers.
• Trump signed the law in 2019 that guarantees back pay after shutdowns.
• Asked later about the law, Trump said, “I follow the law and what the law says is correct.”

The bottom line: Democrats erupted over Trump’s comments. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries promised they “will make sure that the law is followed.”

• Speaker Mike Johnson said he hopes federal workers get paid on principle, but demurred on whether he would oppose any administration attempt to deny back pay.
• “[T]here are some legal analysts who are saying that that may not be appropriate or necessary in terms of the law requiring that back pay be provided.”
• “If that is true, that should turn up the urgency and the necessity of the Democrats doing the right thing here,” he added.

— Stef Kight and Andrew Solender

Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.

Continue/Read Original Article Here: Axios Hill Leaders

#2025 #America #Axios #AxiosHillLeaders #DonaldTrump #Education #FederalWorkers #Health #History #Libraries #LibraryOfCongress #NoKings #Opinion #Paychecks #Politics #Recess #Resistance #Science #TroopsNotPaid #Trump #TrumpAdministration #UnitedStates

Republicans always have the upperhand in these showdowns because they don't give a shit about governing, and Democrats do. www.axios.com/newsletters/... #axioshillleaders

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