Axios Hill Leaders

April 09, 2026
āļø Buckle in. Tonight's edition is 950 words, 3.5 minutes.
- š«£ Impeachment reality check
- š¤ No pay-fors, no problem
1 big thing: š«£ Impeachment reality check
Look past the loudmouths: House Democrats with sway are signaling they won't lean in on impeaching President Trump this year.
- "That's not the fight right now," former Trump impeachment manager Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.) told us today.
Why it matters: Democratic lawmakers are running out of ways to meet the grassroots' demands to up the ante on anti-Trump resistance.
- "People are pissed and know we have to fight," a senior House Democrat told us.
- But Republicans control Congress, and the Senate requires a two-thirds majority to convict a president impeached by the House.
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has given no indication he would get behind a proactive Trump impeachment effort this year, a Democratic leadership aide and a House Democrat close to the leader told us.
Zoom in: The current math in Congress has led lawmakers to pay lip service to moves like impeachment and the 25th Amendment in response to the latest Trump outrage and then focus their attention on more plausible but less flashy tactics.
- Dean doesn't think it is "the best use of our time" to push for Trump's ouster over his posts about Iran on Truth Social, even though she thought the posts merited his removal.
- "Right now we have to end this war, and we have to reclaim our constitutional responsibility," she said.
Between the lines: Jeffries has tried to keep his caucus focused on issues he views as more pertinent to voters, such as affordability and health care.
- Jeffries has largely avoided offering explicit guidance on impeachment efforts, but he has sent clear signals about where his head is at on the topic, Democratic lawmakers told us.
- He has also pumped the brakes on rank-and-file lawmakers' rogue efforts, with leadership talking Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) out of forcing a vote to impeach Trump last May.
- When Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) forced impeachment votes last June and December, Jeffries voted with Republicans to quash the former and voted "present" on the latter.
What we're hearing: Jeffries has remained characteristically opaque in his public statements, saying in an appearance on MS Now's "Morning Joe" today: "We've ruled nothing out and we've ruled nothing in."
- Several House Democrats told us they have not received more explicit guidance from leadership on impeachment behind closed doors.
Yes, but: Jeffries has given several clear indications of his lack of zeal for impeachment in general.
- When most of his members got on board with a push to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem in January, Jeffries told reporters he wouldn't rush the effort until he was sure an impeachment vote could pass.
What's next: There may be more rogue Trump impeachment votes this year, as well as votes to impeach individual Cabinet secretaries.
- "We've successfully run out of town some of his Cabinet secretaries," Jeffries said on "Morning Joe." "I believe Pete Hegseth is next, and we're going to keep our foot on the gas pedal to push this guy out."
- But don't expect the kind of concerted, leadership-backed effort to impeach Trump that Democrats mounted in 2019 and 2021 until and unless they win back the House.
ā Andrew Solender
2. š¤ No pay-fors, no problem
House Republican leaders are unifying around a narrow reconciliation package to fund ICE and Customs and Border Protection without spending offsets ā allowing the Senate to pass a traditional appropriations bill with a simple majority.
Why it matters: The surgical reconciliation bill being fast-tracked falls short of the full-scale abolition of the filibuster demanded by Trump.
- But the move ā which Republicans say they're making under duress ā could expand the types of legislation that can bypass the Senate's 60-vote threshold.
- "None of the DHS spending will need to be offset," House Budget Committee chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) told us. "We would just be moving it from within the current budget, so it's inherently offset."
- Asked whether Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is on board with a no-offset approach, Arrington said: "He agrees. We need to move quickly."
Between the lines: Republicans are borrowing from the Democratic playbook. In 2021 and 2022, Democrats used reconciliation to pass the American Rescue Plan Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, with billions of dollars for the programs.
- Republicans howled at the time, but the Senate parliamentarian allowed it ā setting a precedent.
- Last year, Republicans crammed billions of dollars for the Pentagon ā and yes, immigration enforcement ā into the One Big, Beautiful Bill Act.
Zoom in: Graham, along with Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), will meet with Trump tomorrow to discuss how to fund immigration enforcement at DHS through the budget reconciliation process.
- "We're going to have to go it alone, because Democrats aren't interested in funding national security at a time of increased global concerns," Barrasso told reporters.
- "The goal is to do it in a targeted way ā the hope is to get it done fast."
Zoom out: House conservatives say they will not pass any DHS bill that lacks funding for CBP and ICE until the Senate passes reconciliation funding for the agencies.
- House Speaker Mike Johnson has promised he won't bring up a DHS funding bill until the Senate at least passes a reconciliation budget resolution.
The bottom line: Old-school appropriators are frustrated that they have to resort to a similar tactic to fund the government.
- "Their refusal to fund ICE and Border Patrol leaves our borders and our country less secure and sets a precedent they may one day come to regret," Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the chair of the Senate appropriations committee, said in a statement.
ā Hans Nichols and Kate Santaliz
This newsletter was edited by Justin Green and copy edited by Kathie Bozanich.
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