“They need to come to Congress and say what they’re doing. We don’t know what’s going on. Nobody knows what the mission is in Venezuela.”
— Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE), quoted by Punchbowl News.
Trump’s Approval on the Economy Craters
A new AP-NORC poll finds just 31% of U.S. adults now approve of how President Trump is handling the economy.
That is down from 40% in March and marks the lowest economic approval he’s registered in an AP-NORC poll in his first or second term.
Overall, 36% of Americans approve of the way he’s handling his job as president, which is down slightly from 42% in March.
Newspaper Will Keep Writing About Trump’s Health
The New York Times, attacked by President Trump for reporting about his physical condition, said that it wouldn’t be deterred by “false and inflammatory language” that distorts the role of a free press, the AP reports.
Trump had posted on Truth Social that he believed it was “seditious, perhaps even treasonous” for the Times and other media outlets to do “FAKE” reports on his health.
Republican Lawmakers Reckon with Trump’s Pardons
NOTUS: “In the past two months, President Donald Trump has pardoned a convicted drug trafficker, an unemployment scammer, a money launderer whom he said he is unfamiliar with and a foreign bribe recipient.”
“The pardons — and post-pardon fallout — are increasingly rankling Republican lawmakers, who are left with little recourse to rein in Trump despite him, at times, undermining their political messaging about stamping out ‘waste, fraud and abuse’ and cracking down on foreign drug trafficking.”
Ohio Races Tighten
A new Emerson survey of Ohio voters finds both statewide elections for governor and U.S. Senate tightening, with both races falling within the poll’s margin of error.
In the open seat for governor, 46% support Amy Acton (D), while 45% support Vivek Ramaswamy (R) and 9% are undecided.
In the U.S. Senate election, 49% support incumbent Sen. Jon Husted (R) and 46% support former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D), with 5% undecided.
Greene Says She’ll Back Every Discharge Petition
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said she will consider signing “every discharge petition” regardless of subject, to stop “House leadership from blocking Members from governing.”
How a Nobel Peace Prize Winner Escaped Venezuela
Venezuelan dissident and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado appeared in Oslo after a “journey in a situation of extreme danger” to reach the Norwegian capital from her place of hiding in Venezuela, Bloomberg reports.
Wall Street Journal: “The Venezuelan opposition leader was trying to get to Norway by Wednesday in time to receive the Nobel Peace Prize that she won for challenging Venezuela’s authoritarian leader, Nicolás Maduro. First she had to get from the Caracas suburb where she has been in hiding for a year to a coastal fishing village, where a skiff awaited her.”
“Over the course of 10 nerve-racking hours, Machado and two people helping her escape hit 10 military checkpoints, avoiding capture each time, before she reached the coast by midnight.”
Redistricting Bill Headed to Final Vote in Indiana
“A congressional redistricting proposal that has split Indiana’s Senate Republicans advanced to its final stage Wednesday after lawmakers quickly dispatched three Democratic amendments and positioned the high-stakes bill for a decisive vote on Thursday,” the Indiana Capital Chronicle reports.
“But it remains unclear whether the Senate GOP caucus has enough support to pass the measure.”
Playbook notes President Trump applied pressure his own special way — with an epic 414-word Truth Social post demanding a GOP gerrymander, issuing primary threats and calling Senate President Rodric Bray, a redistricting opponent, “either a bad guy, or a very stupid one!”
Senate to Vote on Dueling Health Care Proposals
Playbook: “The longest government shutdown in history was all for this: a Democrat-led vote in the Senate this morning on extending Obamacare subsidies that we already know is going to fail. The GOP alternative — bolstering health savings accounts — will also get a vote today, and yes, it too will fall short without bipartisan support.”
“Each side will then blame the other for blocking progress… and millions of Americans will see health care premiums soar at the end of the year.”
Biggest National Security Threat May Be Our Workforce
“America has a talent shortage, with 40% of adults lacking basic digital skills, says a new report from JPMorganChase that bolsters the bank’s recently announced $1.5 trillion U.S. investment initiative,” Axios reports.
“The report frames the workforce shortage as a national security threat, not just an economic issue, arguing that funding for vital industries like AI and energy won’t move the needle without a talent pipeline.”
MAGA Turns on Itself
“MAGA’s media machine is ripping itself to shreds, locked in a web of interpersonal feuds that have derailed its once-relentless focus on advancing President Trump’s agenda,” Axios reports.
“The MAGA movement spent years perfecting the art of attacking outsiders. Now, less than a year into Trump’s second term, its most prominent voices are attacking each other with a fury normally reserved for the left.”
Kristi Noem In Bitter Feud with Trump’s Border Czar
“The acrimony is so deep between President Trump’s border czar and his homeland security secretary that the two officials barely speak to or meet with each other,” Axios reports.
“Tensions reached such a fever pitch last week that the White House was swamped with rumors and news stories claiming that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had lost Trump’s favor and was on her way out.”
Fed’s Vote Signals Trouble Ahead for Future Rate Cuts
“Jerome Powell pushed through a rate cut Wednesday over the broadest reservations of his nearly eight-year tenure, and in doing so, implicitly delivered a pointed message to President Trump and his own successor: Cutting rates is harder than it looks,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The decision drew three dissents—two from officials who opposed any cut and one from a Trump ally who wanted a larger reduction.”
Have GOP Leaders Lost Control of the House?
Punchbowl News: “Four live discharge petitions. Being forced to bargain for GOP support during simple procedural votes. Calls to Cabinet secretaries from the House floor to help win over members. A prolonged debate on health care with a disengaged president. Potential retirements on the horizon.”
“This is the House Republican majority with less than 11 months until the midterm elections.”
“OK, we won’t say that the House is in total chaos. Total chaos is when members unleash censure resolutions against each other or a trio of House Republicans publicly claim Speaker Mike Johnson has no business running the chamber. That was last week.”
Health Care Deal Gets Further Out of Reach
Punchbowl News: “On Wednesday, we outlined the many reasons to be skeptical about a bipartisan Senate health care deal coming together in the new year. Now, President Donald Trump says Hill Republicans ‘don’t need’ to pass a big legislative package in 2026 at all.”
“If that holds — and it’s a big ‘if’ given Trump’s penchant for changing his mind — it would be yet another sign that Congress will be unable to address soaring health care costs, a major policy and political problem for Republicans.”
Politico: “House Republicans just showed how divided they are over health care. Today’s Senate votes could expose the party’s strife even further.”
U.S. May Be Drastically Overstating Jobs Numbers
“Fed Chair Jerome Powell pointed on Wednesday to a job-market risk that economists have been worried about for months: Official statistics could be drastically overstating recent hiring,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Powell said that Fed staffers believe that federal data could be overestimating job creation by up to 60,000 jobs a month. Given that figures published so far show that the economy has added about 40,000 jobs a month since April, the real number could be something more like a loss of 20,000 jobs a month.”
Did Texas Republicans Overplay Their Hand?
“When Texas Republicans redrew the state’s congressional map over the summer, they aimed to flip five districts held by Democrats and were guided by the 2024 presidential election results, which showed voters moving to the right,” the New York Times reports.
“But winning all five of those seats under the new map is far from a lock for Republicans next November.”
“With Hispanic voters showing signs of souring on President Trump in special elections this year and concerns mounting over the cost of living, Democrats believe they could hold on to as many as three of the redrawn seats in Texas, two in the Rio Grande Valley and possibly a third centered in and around San Antonio. The party is also looking at flipping a Republican seat in the Valley, little changed in its partisan makeup by the new map, where a popular Tejano music star is running as a moderate Democrat.”
Trump Says CNN Should Be Sold as Part of Any Deal
“President Trump on Wednesday further inserted himself into the drama around the sale of Warner Bros. Discovery, saying he believes CNN — one of several cable networks owned by WBD — should be sold as part of any deal,” Axios reports.
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