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."
• "I don't believe in defunding an entire law enforcement agency over the actions of a few of them," said Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine).
• Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) said there "are mechanisms in which we should be able to get the administration's attention where our powers can't be ignored," but that he is "not interested in going anywhere near" defunding ICE.

The bottom line: Republicans control Congress, and even progressives on the House Appropriations Committee acknowledged to us that any bill funding the Department of Homeland Security likely won't contain cuts for ICE.

• Some lawmakers are also reticent to take up Sen. Chris Murphy's (D-Conn.) threat to oppose a government funding bill if it fails to contain sufficient policy riders to rein in ICE.
• Mannion said he tries "not to let one thing in a budget" keep him from voting for it, telling us, "I've got to be thoughtful about that."
• Said Golden: "It's on Chris Murphy to decide what he wants to do in the Senate, but I'm not for shutting down the government."

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— Andrew Solender

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Justice Department's probe into Fed Chair Jerome Powell "needs to be resolved quickly, because the Fed's independence in shaping monetary policy in the country is something that we need to ensure proceeds without political interference."

• House Speaker Mike Johnson defended the DOJ probe and said if "Powell is innocent, then he can prove that."
• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement the probe is another example of "Trump's assault on the Fed's independence."
• Jeffries said on X that there is "zero basis to criminally target" Powell, accusing the DOJ of being "filled with sick political hacks."

The intrigue: GOP senators on the banking committee appeared highly skeptical that Powell would have violated the law in his congressional testimony last summer about cost overruns as it related to a renovation project.

• "I know Chairman Powell pretty well. I would be stunned if he had done anything wrong," Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) told reporters. "We need this like we need a hole in the head."

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— Hans Nichols

Former Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) launched her Senate campaign with a bang today, saying the state's delegation "used to stand up to their party and put Alaska first."

• Peltola developed a close relationship with Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) when they served together in Congress, but Murkowski quickly endorsed Sen. Dan Sullivan (R) this morning.
• We scooped last week that Peltola was moving toward a Senate campaign instead of running for governor.

The big picture: Alaska isn't a massively expensive state to run a statewide campaign.

• But with Peltola in the race, Schumer can force Thune and the GOP establishment to spend time and energy defending a seat in a solidly Republican state.

Driving the news: In her launch video, Peltola focused on rising grocery costs and declining fisheries, and attacked both Washington, D.C., and the current political class in Alaska.

• "It's about time Alaskans teach the rest of the country what 'Alaska First' — and, really, 'America First' — looks like," she said, speaking directly to the camera.
• "My agenda for Alaska will always be fish, family and freedom," she said.

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— Hans Nichols