Mike Johnson reveals how he’ll vote on Epstein files bill led by Trump critic Thomas Massie
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Tuesday revealed his decision on the House’s forthcoming vote on forcing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to release its files on Jeffrey Epstein. Johnson told reporters at his weekly press conference that he would vote in favor of the bill, despite concerns about what he saw as lackluster protections for victims and other innocent people whose names may be released against their own wishes. “I’m going to vote to move this forward,” Johnson said. “I think it could be close to a unanimous vote, because everybody here, all the Republicans, want to go on record to show their from maximum transparency.” HOUSE REPUBLICANS SAY DEMS TWISTING EPSTEIN PROBE TO SMEAR TRUMP IN NEW MEMO The vote is expected on Tuesday afternoon at 2 p.m. The legislation is a bipartisan product by Reps. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Thomas Massie, R-Ky. Massie has been known to be a frequent critic of both Johnson and President Donald Trump. Despite that, Trump gave House Republicans his blessing to vote for the bill on Sunday night. House GOP leaders had vehemently opposed the legislation for months, arguing it was written in a way that did not provide sufficient protections for innocents while also claiming it was unnecessary given the ongoing bipartisan investigation into Epstein’s crimes. JEFFREY EPSTEIN SAGA CONTINUES AS CONGRESS RETURNS FROM RECESS That probe, led by the House Oversight Committee, has produced tens of thousands of pages of documents both from the DOJ and Epstein’s estate. Johnson made clear he still held concerns about the bill’s language and said he hoped it would be changed when the legislation was sent to the Senate. “We stated our opposition as long as possible, but we’re also for maximum transparency. So what am I to do as a leader in a situation like this?” the speaker said. “I’m very confident that when this moves forward in the process, if and when it is processed in the Senate — which there’s no certainty that that will be — that they will take the time methodically to do what we have not been allowed to do in the House, to amend this discharge petition and to make sure these protections are there.” He warned it could have a “chilling effect” on future investigations as well. “Who’s going to want to come forward if they think Congress can take a political exercise and reveal their identities? Who’s going to come talk to prosecutors? It’s very dangerous. It would deter future whistleblowers and informants,” he said. “The release of that could also publicly reveal the identity, by the way, of undercover law enforcement officers who are working in future operations.” Johnson said he brought his concerns to Massie and Khanna but was told, in essence, “Jump in the Potomac.” Massie and Khanna, for their part, held a press conference alongside one of the bill’s GOP supporters, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., on Tuesday morning. “Don’t muck it up in the Senate. Don’t get too cute. We’re all paying attention,” Massie warned. “If you want to add some additional protections for these survivors, go for it. But if you do anything that prevents any disclosure, you are not for the people, and you are not part of this effort. Do not muck it up in the Senate.”
Headed for the exits: Why 3 dozen House members aren’t running for re-election
Republican Rep. Don Bacon won nine heavily contested GOP primary battles and general elections over the past decade in his swing U.S. House district. But the retired Air Force general and moderate Republican who represents an Omaha, Nebraska-anchored congressional district told Fox News Digital that “the fire wasn’t there” anymore. Bacon, who announced this summer that he wouldn’t run for a sixth two-year term in Congress in next year’s midterms, is one of 36 U.S. House members who’ve announced they won’t seek re-election next year. And the surge in retirements may impact next year’s midterm elections, when Republicans are aiming to protect their fragile House majority. AS CONGRESS GROWS OLDER, DEBATE HEATS UP OVER WHEN TO STEP ASIDE “We’re above average,” noted David Wasserman, a senior editor and elections analyst at the non-partisan political handicapper “The Cook Report,” as he pointed to the pace of House retirement announcements so far this cycle. And we’ve still got six weeks left until the calendar hits 2026. Waves of retirement announcements traditionally come in the final month or two, amid the holiday season, in the year before congressional elections. The party breakdown so far on the retirements: 15 Democrats and 21 Republicans. DEMOCRAT RETIREMENT GIVES GOP BOOST IN BID TO FLIP KEY HOUSE SWING SEAT A handful of the Democrats headed for the exits are in their 70s and 80s and retiring after long tenures in the House. The most prominent is 85-year-old former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But in a continued sign that the bitter partisanship in the House has made the lower chamber in Congress far from a pleasant work environment, most of the members who are passing on re-election are much younger. Among those forgoing re-election next year is 53-year-old Republican Rep. Jodey Arrington of Texas, the House Budget Committee chair who shared his retirement news first with Fox News Digital. “I have a firm conviction, much like our founders did, that public service is a lifetime commitment, but public office is and should be a temporary stint in stewardship, not a career,” Arrington said. Also on that list is moderate Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, who is only 43. SENIOR REPUBLICAN SAYS HE’LL ‘MISS THE CLOWNS,’ NOT ‘THE CIRCUS’ AS HE EYES LIFE AFTER CONGRESS “After 11 years as a legislator, I have grown tired of the increasing incivility and plain nastiness that are now common from some elements of our American community — behavior that, too often, our political leaders exhibit themselves,” Golden wrote last week in an op-ed for the Bangor Daily News, where he revealed his unexpected decision. “I don’t fear losing. What has become apparent to me is that I now dread the prospect of winning. Simply put, what I could accomplish in this increasingly unproductive Congress pales in comparison to what I could do in that time as a husband, a father and a son,” Golden emphasized. Pointing to Golden’s comments, Bacon noted, “He said something I was feeling. The thought of winning was unattractive this cycle. If it feels like it’s a little bit depressing to win, then better let somebody else run.” “I think that’s where this hyper-partisan ugliness fits in. The thought of winning and going through another two years of this was not a fulfilling thought,” he added. VULNERABLE HOUSE DEM CRITICIZES ‘EXTREME’ LEFT IN SHOCKING 2026 ANNOUNCEMENT Former Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster of New Hampshire, who retired a year ago after serving a dozen years in the House, said the dysfunction and political tension in Congress was “definitely a factor” in her decision to leave. “It had gotten so much more difficult over 12 years to work across the aisle,” Kuster told Fox News Digital. “It had gotten much more fractured, partisan, less congenial.” Kuster said “a big factor for me was that most of the moderate Republicans that I worked with all the time had left Congress. The people who were coming in were more hard right partisans.” Bacon, who describes himself as a Ronald Reagan-style, old-fashioned Republican, joked that he was “stuck in the middle” with “crazies on the right and crazies on the left.” TOP HOUSE COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN REVEALS HE WON’T SEEK RE-ELECTION IN 2026 While some, like Bacon and Arrington, are taking a break from politics, most of those not seeking re-election to their House seats are running for statewide offices next year. Wasserman said that “on the Republican side, there’s a sense that not much will get done beyond OBBBA in the next two years of Trump’s presidency.” OBBBA is the acronym for One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the massive GOP domestic policy bill passed along partisan lines this summer by the Republican-controlled House and Senate that is the centerpiece of President Donald Trump‘s second-term agenda. “They’ve made the heavy lift and now there are opportunities to be more impactful elsewhere,” Wasserman said. The bitter battle between Republicans and Democrats over the measure was another sign of the vicious partisan climate on Capitol Hill. But Bacon remained optimistic about the future of Congress. “When folks move on, new people move in, and I know there’s good people out there,” he said.
Trump immigration enforcement focus to expand to new city, mayor indicates
As President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on immigration enforcement in the U.S., its efforts in North Carolina are expected to expand to Raleigh, the state capital. “We have been made aware that Customs and Border Protection are coming to Raleigh,” Mayor Janet Cowell said in a statement obtained by Fox News Digital. “While RPD is not involved in immigration enforcement, we are committed to protecting our residents and to following the law. I can confirm that the Raleigh Police Department has not participated in any immigration planning activities. Above all, Raleigh is a safe city, with crime down year-over-year. Public safety is a priority for me and this City Council,” she noted in the statement. OFFICER INJURED AFTER FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT FACE MULTIPLE RAMMING ATTACKS DURING CHARLOTTE IMMIGRATION RAIDS “I ask Raleigh to remember our values and maintain peace and respect through any upcoming challenges,” she later added. North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein noted on social media that his “office is aware of reports that the Border Patrol is bringing its operation to Raleigh.” GRANDDAUGHTER OF ‘CHARLOTTE’S WEB’ AUTHOR BLASTS DHS FOR USE OF BOOK TITLE IN CHARLOTTE IMMIGRATION SWEEP “Once again, I call on federal agents to target violent criminals, not neighbors walking down the street, going to church, or putting up Christmas decorations. Stop targeting people simply going about their lives because of the color of their skin, as you are doing in Charlotte,” he declared, urging individuals in the city of Raleigh to stay “peaceful.” When contacted by Fox News Digital, U.S. Customs and Border Protection provided a statement from Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin. “Every day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country. We do not discuss future or potential operations,” McLaughlin said. HUMAN TRAFFICKING SOARS IN BLUE CITY AS GANGS, HIGHWAYS FUEL ‘PERFECT STORM’ OF CHILD EXPLOITATION: EXPERTS CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP DHS has touted its immigration enforcement operation in North Carolina’s largest city, dubbed “Operation Charlotte’s Web.” The department noted in a Monday press release that the “immigration enforcement operation surge in the Charlotte area resulted in the arrest of over 130 illegal aliens in just two days.”
Saudi Arabia is already America’s top arms buyer and now Trump wants to add F-35s
There’s no business quite like the U.S. arms business and no audience roars louder in approval than Saudi Arabia. On Tuesday, President Donald Trump is expected to close several deals with Saudi Arabia’s powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a visit that could see billions more in U.S. weapons flow to one of the world’s most prolific importers of military hardware. TRUMP SET TO HOST SAUDI ARABIA’S POWERFUL CROWN PRINCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE THIS WEEK Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday that the U.S. will likely move forward with a deal to sell F-35 jets to Saudi Arabia. The F-35, the crown jewel in Lockheed Martin’s portfolio, is among the most advanced fighter jets in the world and one of the most sought-after symbols of U.S. military might. Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich monarchy is one of America’s most crucial strategic partners in the Middle East and one of the U.S. defense industry’s most dependable customers. For Washington, the partnership means billions in defense revenue and a key ally in the Gulf. For Riyadh, it’s a pipeline to the world’s most advanced military technology and a symbol of its ambition to stand shoulder to shoulder with the world’s military powers in a volatile region. TRUMP SET TO HOST SAUDI ARABIA’S POWERFUL CROWN PRINCE AT THE WHITE HOUSE THIS WEEK According to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, between 2020 and 2024, Saudi Arabia was the top buyer of American-made arms, accounting for 12% of all U.S. weapons exports, followed by Ukraine (9.3%) and Japan (8.8%). The U.S. was also by far the kingdom’s main supplier, providing 74% of all Saudi arms imports during that period. That level of spending underscores Saudi Arabia’s regional military ambitions, but globally, it’s the U.S. that dominates by an extraordinary margin. SAUDI ARABIA’S 40-YEAR-OLD DISRUPTOR: HOW MBS REWIRED THE KINGDOM IN 10 SHORT YEARS With $997 billion in defense spending in 2024, the U.S. outspent every other nation several times over, investing more than triple what China, the world’s second-largest spender, devoted to its military. Beyond defense spending, the U.S. also leads the world in arms exports, responsible for nearly half of all major weapons sold globally between 2020 and 2024. In total, 162 nations purchased major weapons systems, but just five importers, Ukraine, India, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, accounted for 35% of global imports, highlighting how concentrated the world’s arms trade remains. The crown prince serves as the kingdom’s powerful understudy to his 89-year-old father, King Salman. Widely regarded as Saudi Arabia’s de facto ruler, he manages nearly all daily affairs of state and frequently represents the kingdom in international summits and diplomatic meetings. Tuesday’s meetings will mark the crown prince’s first visit to the White House in more than seven years. The two last met in May, when Trump made his first state visit of his second term to Riyadh. He was welcomed with a fighter jet escort, an honor guard wielding golden swords and a parade of Arabian horses flanking his limousine. It was a scene that captured the enduring spectacle of U.S.–Saudi ties, a partnership as opulent as it is strategic and one that remains vital to both nations’ ambitions.
House conservatives rally behind push to impeach Judge Boasberg over role in Trump investigation
The House Freedom Caucus is rallying behind one of its own members’ push to impeach U.S. District Judge James Boasberg. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, introduced an impeachment resolution against Boasberg last month for his role in Arctic Frost, a code name for ex-special counsel Jack Smith’s probe into President Donald Trump and the 2020 election. Gill argued Boasberg acted in a partisan fashion when he signed off on subpoenas and gag orders related to the investigation, including subpoenas for phone records from several Republican legislators in Congress — the news of which was made public in documents released by Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, this year. But it’s not immediately clear whether the push to impeach Boasberg is strong enough to launch an actual pressure campaign on House GOP leaders. FROM ‘LEGISLATIVE TERRORISTS’ TO CENTER OF TRUMP’S DC REVOLUTION: WHERE KEY CONSERVATIVE CAUCUS IS NOW “It absolutely should be done,” House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., told Fox News Digital last week. “I think this is levels above what we thought was going on. His bias is pretty clear, someone with that kind of bias cannot exist in the federal judiciary.” But Harris signaled it would not be an issue the conservative group would pressure House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on anytime soon. “No, we have other issues as well. We’re concentrated right now on the fiscal issues,” Harris said when asked if he would bring the issue to House leaders. “But we have discussed that, and there is broad support to impeach the judge.” DEM-APPOINTED MARYLAND SUPREME COURT JUSTICE IN HOT SEAT OVER POLITICALLY CHARGED HALLOWEEN DISPLAY Still, his conservative caucus appears largely supportive. “I think there’s considerable movement over here, particularly in light of, actually the genesis here, Arctic Frost … the massive concerns we have with what the judge is doing — just making up facts out of thin air and assumptions based on motives that have no basis,” House Freedom Caucus Policy Chairman Chip Roy, R-Texas, told Fox News Digital. Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., who is also running for governor of South Carolina, told Fox News Digital, “I hope so,” when asked if this impeachment push would be stronger than the last. “He’s so partisan. He’s one of the rogue judges that exist today,” Norman said. “There are consequences for what he did.” Meanwhile, Rep. Eli Crane, R-Ariz., pointed out that he was one of the earliest supporters of impeaching judges who conservatives saw as casting overly partisan rulings in the Trump era. “I think a lot of these judges have gone way out of bounds and violated their oaths. I’m in support of it, yeah,” he told Fox News Digital. He was more cautious when asked if it would yield results. “I don’t tend to have confidence in anything around here until I see action taken. Talk is cheap,” Crane said. BOASBERG’S ROLE IN ‘ARCTIC FROST’ PROBE SPARKS FURY FROM GOP SENATORS, DESPITE LOCAL RULES Gill was one of several House Freedom Caucus members to introduce impeachment resolutions against Boasberg this past spring, when he issued an order temporarily blocking Trump’s deportation flights to El Salvador. At the time, however, Johnson warned Republicans that impeachment was not the most practical way to curb “rogue judges” — pointing out that removal would require support in the Senate that simply was not there. Instead, House GOP leaders rallied around a bill by Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., subcommittee chair of the House Judiciary panel’s subcommittee on courts. That legislation, aimed at limiting the power of district court judges to issue nationwide injunctions, passed the House in early April but was never taken up in the Senate. Issa himself cautioned against moving too quickly toward impeachment when asked by Fox News Digital last week. “We have a number of rogue judges, and I think before we talk about impeachment, with so many people seeing wrongdoing, both the House and the Senate need to hold appropriate hearings and evaluate just what the proper definition of good behavior is and whether not just one, but multiple judges, may have clearly violated that,” Issa said. “I think that’s the right way to approach it.” Issa said he was “looking at” holding a hearing on the matter when lawmakers returned to Capitol Hill after Thanksgiving. Fox News Digital reached out to the U.S. Courts system, which declined to comment for this story.
Trump says whether he would sign Epstein files bill
President Donald Trump said, “I’m all for it,” when asked by a reporter if he would sign a bill that would force the Justice Department to release all its files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Trump made the remark in the White House on Monday as the House of Representatives is preparing to vote on the bill Tuesday afternoon. “We have nothing to do with Epstein. The Democrats do. All of his friends were Democrats,” Trump said. “All I want is I want for people to recognize a great job that I’ve done on pricing, on affordability, because we brought prices way down, but they go way lower. On energy, on ending eight wars and another one coming pretty soon, I believe. We’ve done a great job, and I hate to see that deflect from the great job we’ve done. So I’m all for it.” When asked again about signing the bill if it reaches his desk, Trump added, “Sure I would.” HOUSE GOP BRACES FOR EPSTEIN FILES VOTE AS CONCERNS REMAIN DESPITE TRUMP’S GREEN LIGHT “Let the Senate look at it. Let anybody look at it. But don’t talk about it too much, because honestly… it’s really a Democrat problem,” Trump also said. “The Democrats were Epstein’s friends, all of them. And it’s a hoax. The whole thing is a hoax, and I don’t want to take it away from really the greatness of what the Republican Party has accomplished over the last period of time.” GOP lawmakers who spoke with Fox News Digital Monday evening said they would vote for the bill and were optimistic their colleagues would as well — though many of them said they still had concerns about how it was written. TRUMP CALLS ON HOUSE REPUBLICANS TO VOTE TO RELEASE EPSTEIN FILES: ‘WE HAVE NOTHING TO HIDE’ It comes after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who had been against the bill but had been pushing parallel transparency efforts in Epstein’s case, said he hoped it would undergo material changes when it reached the Senate to give more protection for innocent people whose names may appear in the files against their wishes. The legislation is coming to the House floor on Tuesday afternoon via a mechanism called a discharge petition led by Rep Ro. Khanna, D-Calif., and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky. In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump urged House Republicans to vote in favor of releasing the documents. Trump also argued that if the Democrats “had anything,” it would have surfaced prior to last year’s presidential election. “Nobody cared about Jeffrey Epstein when he was alive and, if the Democrats had anything, they would have released it before our Landslide Election Victory,” Trump said. “Some ‘members’ of the Republican Party are being ‘used,’ and we can’t let that happen. Let’s start talking about the Republican Party’s Record Setting Achievements, and not fall into the Epstein ‘TRAP,’ which is actually a curse on the Democrats, not us. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Fox News Digital’s Elizabeth Elkind and Sophia Compton contributed to this report.
Potential GOP challenger warns Hochul that a corporate tax hike would be a ‘disaster’ for New York’s economy
EXCLUSIVE: While Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman weighs a gubernatorial bid, Gov. Kathy Hochul, D-N.Y., is reportedly considering a corporate tax hike – a move the New York Republican described to Fox News Digital as a “tax on the middle class.” Blakeman said a decision about his political future is coming “very soon” as he travels across New York state to determine if he has the “support to get to the next level.” But as Blakeman mulls his political future, he is sounding the alarm on Hochul for reportedly planning to raise taxes on corporations to shore up funds for the state’s budget gap and to deliver on Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani‘s socialist campaign agenda, according to Politico. “This is a tax on the middle class,” Blakeman told Fox News Digital. “It will make things less affordable. It will drive up inflation, and it will make New York less competitive. Corporations are already leaving our state in record numbers. Jobs are leaving our state. People are leaving our state. This corporate tax increase will drive more high net-worth individuals and corporations out of New York State and will be an economic disaster.” NEW YORK LEADER PLEDGES MORE COPS, TOUGHER ICE PARTNERSHIP IF NYC ELECTS SOCIALIST MAYOR Kyle Strober, executive director of the Association for a Better Long Island, the region’s leading economic development advocacy organization, told Fox News Digital that a corporate tax increase could be “potentially devastating” to Long Island’s economy. STEFANIK DECRIES HOCHUL AS ‘WORST GOVERNOR IN AMERICA’ IN FIERY 2026 CAMPAIGN LAUNCH “Long Island, whose economy is closely aligned with New York City, is already confronting multiple challenges, including high taxes, high costs of living, and a lack of housing driving potential employees and employers outside the region,” Strober said, adding that a corporate tax hike would “only serve to drive away additional businesses and high-income earners, who pay the majority of the state’s tax revenue.” “When this occurs, the tax burden is shifted to Long Island’s hard working middle class. It becomes self-evident that this tax proposal would fly in direct conflict of making New York more affordable for our middle class, a stated goal of Albany leadership,” he explained. The ABLI led efforts in 2021 and 2025 to oppose tax hike proposals out of Albany, particularly tax hikes on the top 1% of New Yorkers and raising the corporate tax rate. Hochul has faced pressure from the socialist wing of the Democratic Party to raise taxes so Mamdani can deliver on his ambitious campaign promises, including fast and free buses, universal childcare and city-run grocery stores. Mamdani campaigned on raising taxes on the top 1% of New Yorkers and hiking up the state’s corporate tax from 7.25% to 11.5% to match the rate in New Jersey. Any tax hikes would require Hochul’s approval in Albany. MAMDANI LAUGHS OFF CRITICISM THAT HIS TAX HIKE PROPOSALS WILL COMPEL NEW YORKERS TO FLEE While the comparably moderate governor endorsed Mamdani after he secured the Democratic nomination, Hochul has maintained that she won’t raise taxes on the top 1% of New Yorkers – despite Mamdani’s supporters heckling Hochul to “Tax the rich!” “This has become a one-party state ruled by the far-left, woke, progressive part of the Democratic Party, now led by Zohran Mamdani, the mayor-elect of New York City, who is an avowed social democrat,” Blakeman said, charging that Mamdani sounds like a “communist.” “He is anti-American values,” Blakeman said. “He is against business. He will destroy the economy of the greatest financial city in the world, the financial capital of the world: New York City. And that will have a material effect on my county, which borders New York City.” Blakeman said Hochul raising taxes on corporations would be a “disaster.” And when asked how the state should approach Mamdani following his election night success, Blakeman said Republican leadership needs to step up and “push back” in New York state. “When he wants to do crazy things, like give free bus rides to everybody, which will be nothing more than homeless shelters on wheels, when he doesn’t want to prosecute criminals for committing crimes, when he wants to increase taxes and increase the corporate tax rate, and he wants the tax the rich, which will drive people out of New York State, and they’ll take jobs with them, we have to push back.” AS NYC ELECTS SOCIALIST MAMDANI, NEIGHBORING COUNTY DOUBLES DOWN ON TRUMP-STYLE LEADERSHIP WITH BLAKEMAN’S WIN While New York City handed power to its far-left flank on Election Day, neighboring Nassau County re-elected Blakeman, an ally of President Donald Trump. “I won because I adhered to American values, American principles. I didn’t raise taxes a penny in four years. I hired 600 new law enforcement professionals. I declared Nassau County wasn’t a sanctuary county. I showed leadership and I reached out to communities that in the past, the Republican Party has ignored,” Blakeman said, explaining how he built a broad coalition of support among diverse communities. When reached for comment, Hochul campaign spokesperson Sarafina Chitika told Fox News Digital that the governor has “cut middle class taxes while putting inflation refund checks in New Yorkers’ pockets.” “Bruce Blakeman is the number one fanboy for Trump’s tariffs that are raising costs for families and making everything more expensive for small businesses – while the governor remains laser-focused on lowering costs, Blakeman’s shilling for Donald Trump’s tariff tax hikes,” Chitika charged. Since winning his re-election earlier this month, Blakeman said business and political leaders have encouraged him to launch a campaign for governor, given his executive experience. But while rumors swirl about Blakeman’s political future, Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., another Trump loyalist, has already launched her gubernatorial campaign and secured support from New York Republican Party Chair Ed Cox and 36 New York conservative county chairs.
Longtime Obamacare critic says Trump plan won’t solve program’s fatal flaws
The underlying problems with Obamacare will persist — even if Republicans tweak the way its subsidies work, said Avik Roy, a healthcare policy expert and one of Obamacare’s most vocal critics. In Roy’s view, Republican proposals to redirect financial assistance straight to policyholders instead of routing them directly to insurance companies would do little to drive costs down without broader reforms. “Imagine if there was agricultural regulation such that you couldn’t buy a steak for less than $300,” Roy said. “And then you said, ‘Oh, we’re going to solve that problem by giving everybody more food stamps so they can afford a sirloin at the grocery store.’” “Would that solve the problem? Actually addressing the core root of why a steak costs $300 — wouldn’t you want to solve that problem first?” OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES AT CENTER OF DEM SHUTDOWN FIGHT ‘FUEL’ HEALTHCARE COST INFLATION, CONSERVATIVES SAY Amid congressional divisions over what to do about expiring COVID-era financial assistance to Obamacare plans, some Republicans have floated providing those credits directly to policyholders through Health Savings Accounts (HSAs). By giving Obamacare users more say in how to spend that money, Republicans hope to introduce some competition and drive down costs in the long run. Congress greatly expanded subsidies for Obamacare in 2021, helping enrollees cover the costs of their health insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that those subsidies are set to expire at the end of 2025, Democrats worry millions of Americans will find themselves facing significantly higher premiums overnight at the end of the year unless they’re continued in some way. Instead of abolishing them outright, President Donald Trump urged Republicans to adopt the direct-to-policyholder change through a post on Truth Social earlier this month. “I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money-sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad healthcare provided by Obamacare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE, and have money left over. In other words, take from the BIG, BAD Insurance Companies, give it to the people,” Trump wrote. DEMOCRATS HOLD THE GOVERNMENT HOSTAGE OVER SUBSIDIES AMERICANS DON’T WANT Roy believes implementing Trump’s proposal would solve the short-term concerns about the expiring subsidies. “That would be an improvement. People need to be able to afford insurance. Those subsidies would help people buy insurance,” Roy said. “But you still haven’t solved the problem of why the insurance is expensive in the first place.” Roy noted that in order to enact the idea, Congress will first have to change the legal structures around HSAs. “You’re not allowed to buy health insurance with your HSA. That’s not allowed. You can use them to pay for various healthcare products like prescription drugs at Walgreens or CVS, your copay at your primary care physician’s office, an X-ray or MRI. There’s literally a list of things that the IRS puts out every year of the things you’re allowed to spend your HSA dollars on,” Roy said. Although Roy supports making insurance purchases possible through HSAs, Roy believes that prices will remain high because Obamacare’s regulations stretch across the board, keeping most plans similarly priced. “Obamacare basically does not allow anybody to sell health insurance to individuals that does not conform to Obamacare’s regulatory requirements,” Roy said. HOUSE REPUBLICANS DIVIDED OVER OBAMACARE AS GOP EYES FIX AFTER SHUTDOWN Roy argued only bipartisan deregulation would help meaningfully lower costs in the future. Open enrollment for the expanded Obamacare subsidies began on Nov. 1. The program’s current framework runs through Dec. 31, at which point financial assistance through the expanded tax credits will sunset.
Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 1,363
Here are the key events from day 1,363 of Russia’s war on Ukraine. By News Agencies Published On 18 Nov 202518 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Here is how things stand on Tuesday, November 18: Fighting A Russian missile strike on the eastern Ukrainian city of Balakliia killed three people and wounded 10, including three children, a regional military official in the Kharkiv region said on Telegram on Monday. At least two people were killed and three were injured in Russian shelling of the Nikopol district in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, Vladyslav Haivanenko, the acting head of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Military Administration, wrote on Facebook. Russian troops captured three villages across three Ukrainian regions, the RIA news agency cited the Russian Ministry of Defence as saying on Monday. The villages are Hai in the Dnipropetrovsk region, Platonivka in the Donetsk region and Dvorichanske in the Kharkiv region. Russia’s air defence forces destroyed 36 Ukrainian drones overnight, RIA reported on Monday, citing the Defence Ministry’s daily data. A Russian attack on Ukraine’s southern region of Odesa sparked fires at energy and port infrastructure facilities, Ukraine’s emergency services said on Monday. The attack damaged port equipment and several civilian vessels, including one carrying liquefied natural gas, and forced Romania to evacuate a border village, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X. A 68-year-old man has died after he was injured in a Russian drone attack in Ukraine’s Kherson region, the head of the regional administration, Oleksandr Prokudin, wrote on Telegram. Two Ukrainian nuclear power plants have been running at reduced capacity for 10 days after a military attack damaged an electrical substation needed for nuclear safety, International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi said in a statement. The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia’s port of Novorossiysk resumed export activities after a Ukrainian attack caused a two-day suspension of its oil loadings. A firefighter stands at the site of apartment buildings hit by Russian missile strikes in the town of Balakliia in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region on November 17, 2025 [Anatolii Stepanov/Reuters] Military aid Advertisement Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a deal with French President Emmanuel Macron at France’s Velizy-Villacoublay Air Base for Ukraine to obtain up to 100 French-made Rafale warplanes over the next 10 years. Macron said France’s rail transport manufacturer Alstom and Ukrainian Railways have signed a 475-million-euro ($551m) contract on delivering 55 electric locomotives to Ukraine, according to the Interfax news agency. Regional security Polish Interior Minister Marcin Kierwinski said on Monday that one confirmed and one likely act of sabotage occurred on Polish railways after an explosion damaged a Polish railway track on a route to Ukraine over the weekend. Polish Special Services Minister Tomasz Siemoniak added during the same news conference that chances are very high that the people who conducted the sabotage were acting on orders of foreign intelligence services. He appeared to be pointing fingers at Russia although he did not name the country. Politics and diplomacy During a joint news conference in Paris, Macron said he was confident Zelenskyy could improve Ukraine’s anticorruption track record and institute reforms to clear its path to European Union membership. German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng during a state visit to Beijing on Monday that the two countries “should work together to finish the war in Ukraine” and “China can play a key role”. He responded by saying, “China will continue to play a constructive role in the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis.” The Kremlin said on Monday that there was an ongoing conversation about a possible prisoner-of-war exchange with Ukraine but declined to provide details. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russia hoped for another summit between President Vladimir Putin and United States President Donald Trump soon. Peskov added that Moscow took a very negative view of a bill that Trump said Republicans in the US were working on that would impose sanctions on any country doing business with Russia. Russia’s financial watchdog added former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov and leading economist Sergei Guriev – both critics of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – to its list of “extremists and terrorists”, its website showed on Monday. Economy European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in a letter to EU members on Monday that the bloc had three options or a combination of them to help Ukraine meet its financing needs: “Support … financed by member states via grants, a limited recourse loan funded by the union borrowing on the financial markets or a limited recourse loan linked to the cash balances of immobilised assets”. The Chevron oil company is studying options to buy international assets of sanctioned Russian oil firm Lukoil after the US Department of the Treasury gave clearance to potential buyers to talk to Lukoil about foreign assets, five sources familiar with the process told the Reuters news agency. Advertisement Adblock test (Why?)
Trump hails lower prices amid rising discontent over cost of living
US president defends economic policies as polls show growing angst among voters over prices. Published On 18 Nov 202518 Nov 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share United States President Donald Trump has defended his administration’s record on lowering prices as he faces growing discontent from Americans over the cost of living. In a speech to McDonald’s franchise owners and suppliers on Monday, Trump claimed credit for bringing inflation back to “normal” levels while pledging to bring price growth lower still. Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of list “We have it down to a low level, but we’re going to get it a little bit lower,” Trump said. “We want perfection.” Returning to his regular talking point that Democrats had mismanaged the economy, the Republican president blamed cost pressures on former US President Joe Biden and insisted Americans were “so damn lucky” he won the 2024 election. “Nobody has done what we’ve done in terms of pricing. We took over a mess,” Trump said. Trump, whose 2024 presidential campaign focused heavily on the cost of living, has struggled to win over Americans with his protectionist economic message amid persistent affordability concerns. In an NBC News poll released this month, 66 percent of respondents said Trump had fallen short of their expectations on affordability, while 63 percent answered the same for the economy in general. Voter angst over prices has been widely identified as a key reason Republicans suffered a shellacking in off-year elections held early this month in multiple states, including New Jersey and Virginia. Despite repeatedly playing down the effects of his tariffs on prices, Trump on Friday signed an executive order lowering duties on 200 food products, including beef, bananas, coffee and orange juice. Advertisement Trump has also floated tariff-funded $2,000 rebate cheques and the introduction of 50-year mortgages as part of a push to address affordability concerns. While inflation has markedly declined since hitting a four-decade high of 9.1 percent under Biden, it remains significantly above the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target. The inflation rate rose to 3 percent in October, the first time it hit the 3 percent mark since January, although many analysts had expected a higher figure due to Trump’s trade salvoes. Trump, who is well known for his love of McDonald’s, spent a considerable portion of Monday’s speech praising the fast-food chain and casting the company as emblematic of his economic agenda. “Together we are fighting for an economy where everybody can win, from the cashier starting her first job to a franchisee opening their first location to the young family in a drive-through line,” he said. Trump also offered “special thanks” to the fast-food giant for rolling out more affordable menu options, including the reintroduction of extra value meals, which were phased out in 2018 and are priced at $5 or $8. “We’re getting prices down for this country, and there’s no better leader or advocate than McDonald’s,” he said. Adblock test (Why?)