{"id":8396,"date":"2025-12-18T01:30:33","date_gmt":"2025-12-18T01:30:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2025\/12\/18\/live-updates-trump-speech-tonight-moderate-house-republicans-join-petition-forcing-aca-funding-vote-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2025-12-18T01:30:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T01:30:33","slug":"live-updates-trump-speech-tonight-moderate-house-republicans-join-petition-forcing-aca-funding-vote-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2025\/12\/18\/live-updates-trump-speech-tonight-moderate-house-republicans-join-petition-forcing-aca-funding-vote-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Live updates: Trump speech tonight; Moderate House Republicans join petition forcing ACA funding vote – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

14m ago \/ 8:16 PM EST<\/p>\n

House rejects war powers resolutions<\/h2>\n
\n

The\u00a0House\u00a0rejected a pair of war powers resolutions tonight.<\/p>\n

In a 210-216 vote, the lower chamber rejected a\u00a0resolution\u00a0<\/a>from\u00a0Rep. Greg Meeks, D-N.Y.,\u00a0that would direct the president \u201cto\u00a0remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with presidentially designated terrorist organizations in the Western Hemisphere.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two\u00a0Republicans \u2014 Don Bacon of Nebraska and\u00a0Thomas Massie of Kentucky \u2014 voted for the measure.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0House\u00a0also did not approve a\u00a0war\u00a0powers\u00a0resolution<\/a>\u00a0from\u00a0Rep. Jim\u00a0McGovern, D-Mass., that would \u201cdirect the\u00a0removal of United States Armed Forces from hostilities within or against\u00a0Venezuela\u00a0that have not been authorized by Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

The vote was 211-213, with three\u00a0Republicans \u2014 Bacon, Massie and\u00a0Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia \u2014 voting with most Democrats for the measure.<\/p>\n

Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas was the lone Democrat to vote against the measure.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

31m ago \/ 7:58 PM EST<\/p>\n

House approves GOP health care bill that doesn’t include ACA subsidies extension<\/h2>\n
\n

The\u00a0House\u00a0approved a Republican health care bill that does not include an extension of the ACA premium tax credits.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The vote was 216-211.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky was the only Republican to vote against the bill.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Some of the bill’s provisions include expanded access to association health plans, pharmacy benefit manager transparency and, beginning in 2027, necessary funding for cost-sharing reduction payments.<\/p>\n

The bill now heads to the Senate.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll be back in January to do much more of this, more policies, more ideas ahead, policy changes to fix the broken health care system,\u201d Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said after the vote.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

2h ago \/ 7:25 PM EST<\/p>\n

House cancels votes Friday, will leave for holiday recess Thursday afternoon\u00a0<\/h2>\n
\n

The House has canceled a planned session day Friday, meaning members will leave town for the holiday recess tomorrow afternoon.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Originally, the House was supposed to be in session only Monday through Thursday this week. But after the government shutdown, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., added days to the legislative calendar, including this Friday.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“There\u2019ll be long days and long nights here for the foreseeable future to make up for all this lost time that was imposed upon us,”\u00a0Johnson\u00a0said when the House returned from the multiple weeks of district work periods he created during the shutdown.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

2h ago \/ 7:03 PM EST<\/p>\n

House passes bill to criminalize transition care for minors<\/h2>\n
\n

The House passed leg<\/a>i<\/a>slation<\/a> today that would charge doctors with a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison for providing transition-related medical care to minors.<\/p>\n

The bill was approved largely along party lines in a 216 to 211 vote. <\/p>\n

The measure, which is expected to die in the Senate, would impose the harshest penalty for doctors providing transgender treatments ever passed by the House. <\/p>\n

\n

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., who introduced the bill, said on the House floor today, “For far too long, children have been sexually exploited under the malicious falsehood of so-called gender-affirming care.”<\/p>\n

“American children are being systematically indoctrinated with perverse gender ideology by teachers, doctors, mental health counselors and on social media platforms,” she added. She described transition-related care \u2014 which includes puberty blockers, which temporarily stop puberty, hormone therapy and, in rare cases, surgery \u2014 as mutilation and sterilization. <\/p>\n

Also this week, the House is expected to vote on a bill<\/a>, introduced by Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, that would prohibit Medicaid from covering transition-related treatments for minors.<\/p>\n

In remarks outside the House on Wednesday, Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., the country’s first out transgender member of Congress, said the bills politicize “a misunderstood community and misunderstood care.”<\/p>\n

McBride said lawmakers should be concerned about Affordable Care Act tax credits’ expiring Dec. 31, which would cause health care premiums for millions of people to increase. Instead, she said, GOP leadership \u201care obsessed with trans people.\u201d<\/p>\n

She added, in rare personal remarks, that “one of the things that gets so lost in this conversation is that the transgender adults of today were kids once.” <\/p>\n

“I was a kid once. I didn’t have the courage to come out until I was 21, but it’s a fact I have known about myself for my entire life,” she said. “I didn’t have the courage to come out until I was 21, and that means 21 years of pain, 21 years of unwavering homesickness that only went away when I was able to get the care that I needed. And my biggest regret in life is that I never had a childhood without that pain. I marvel at the courage of transgender young people today who are sharing themselves with their families and this world, despite the toxicity and the hate that too often emanates from the building behind me and from politicians within it.” <\/p>\n

She concluded, “It is already hard enough to be a kid, and government should not make it harder.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

3h ago \/ 6:17 PM EST<\/p>\n

Senators introduce bill to prevent enforcement of Trump’s AI executive order<\/h2>\n
\n

Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., introduced a bill today<\/a> that aims to prevent the Trump administration from implementing last week’s e<\/a>xecutive <\/a>o<\/a>rder targeting state AI laws<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Markey’s bill, named the States’ Right to Regulate AI Act<\/a>, would prevent federal funding from being used to administer or enforce Trump’s order Thursday on “Ensuring a National Policy Framework for Artificial Intelligence.”<\/p>\n

In a statement, Markey said: “Trump\u2019s lawless AI Executive Order is a direct threat to our children, workers, planet, and marginalized communities. While I am confident that the courts will strike down Trump\u2019s illegal power grab, Congress has a responsibility to assert its legislative authority and block this Executive Order.”<\/p>\n

\n

Trump’s executive order would direct Attorney General Pam Bondi to create a task force to target what the administration terms “onerous” state laws on AI, in addition to several other provisions critical of state AI regulations.<\/p>\n

AI has become an increasingly hot-button political issue<\/a>. In recent weeks, the fight over states’ ability to pass and implement meaningful AI legislation has formed new and unexpected coalitions<\/a> between progressive Democrats and MAGA Republicans. <\/p>\n

Markey was joined by 10 co-sponsors, including Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

3h ago \/ 5:34 PM EST<\/p>\n

FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino says he will leave his post in January <\/h2>\n
\n

Deputy Director Dan Bongino, a former conservative podcaster who became\u00a0the No. 2 official<\/a>\u00a0at the FBI in the\u00a0Trump administration<\/a>, announced today that \u201cI will be leaving my position with the FBI in January.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI want to thank President Trump, AG Bondi, and Director Patel for the opportunity to serve with purpose. Most importantly, I want to thank you, my fellow Americans, for the privilege to serve you,\u201d he wrote on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Trump appeared to\u00a0confirm Bongino\u2019s departure today\u00a0<\/a>when a reporter asked about Bongino\u2019s future as deputy director.<\/p>\n

Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

4h ago \/ 5:17 PM EST<\/p>\n

HHS cuts millions in grants to the American Academy of Pediatrics <\/h2>\n
\n

The Department of Health and Human Services has terminated seven grants totaling millions of dollars to the American Academy of Pediatrics, escalating its confrontation with\u00a0<\/strong>the group, which is\u00a0suing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.<\/a>\u00a0over vaccine policy.<\/p>\n

The grants supported initiatives aimed at reducing sudden infant deaths, improving teen and young adult health, preventing birth defects, such as fetal alcohol syndrome, and identifying autism early, according to an academy spokesperson.<\/p>\n

The Washington Post<\/a> first reported the cuts.<\/p>\n

Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

4h ago \/ 4:53 PM EST<\/p>\n

Federal judge blocks Trump administration policy requiring members of Congress to wait 7 days before visiting ICE facilities<\/h2>\n
\n

A federal judge in Washington this afternoon paused a Trump administration policy that blocks members of Congress from making unannounced oversight visits to federal immigration detention facilities.<\/p>\n

The administration this summer imposed a weeklong waiting period between requests for access and access itself. It also barred access to Department of Homeland Security\/Immigration and Customs Enforcement field offices.<\/p>\n

But in Section 527 of the Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, Congress has already prohibited DHS and ICE from preventing members of Congress from entering ICE facilities upon request, as well as from making temporary modifications that would change what visiting members of Congress see when they visit.<\/p>\n

\n

Because of that, U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb wrote, what the Trump administration is doing is unlawful.<\/p>\n

“The Court concludes that Plaintiffs have shown a likelihood of success on the merits of their claim that the challenged Oversight Visit Policies are contrary to law and in excess of DHS\u2019s statutory authority,” Cobb wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The plaintiff members of Congress, led by Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., wrote in a statement: \u201cToday\u2019s decision is a critical victory toward restoring our ability to conduct essential congressional oversight on behalf of the American people. It reinforces the rule of law and reminds the administration that oversight is not optional. Real-time, on-the-ground visits to immigration detention facilities help prevent abuses and ensure transparency. Oversight is a core responsibility of Members of Congress\u2014and a constitutional duty we do not take lightly. We\u2019ll continue standing up for the rule of law.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

4h ago \/ 4:33 PM EST<\/p>\n

Trump defends Venezuelan oil tankers blockade<\/h2>\n
\n

Trump defended his blockade on sanctioned oil tankers’ entering and leaving Venezuela in comments to reporters this afternoon.<\/p>\n

“We\u2019re not gonna let anybody going through that shouldn\u2019t be going through,” Trump said.<\/p>\n

“You remember, they took all of our energy rights, they took all of our oil from not that long ago, and we want it back, but they took it. They illegally took it,” he said.<\/p>\n

\n

The Trump administration has been mounting a pressure campaign against Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro<\/a>. Tensions escalated further last week when U.S. forces\u00a0seized an oil tanker<\/a>\u00a0in waters near Venezuela.<\/p>\n

Trump argued when he announced the blockade on Truth Social last night that Maduro is using oil revenue to finance illicit operations, including \u201cdrug terrorism.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

5h ago \/ 4:20 PM EST<\/p>\n

White House installs plaques mocking former Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden<\/h2>\n
\n

The White House has installed plaques on the exterior of the building bashing Trump\u2019s predecessors, including Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama, and promoting disinformation about their administrations.<\/p>\n

The plaques were hung up below presidential portraits that have been on display on Trump\u2019s recently added \u201cPresidential Walk of Fame\u201d in the White House colonnade.<\/p>\n

The one placed under the portrait of the \u201cAutopen,\u201d\u00a0which stands in for Biden\u2019s portrait<\/a>, refers to him as \u201cSleepy Joe Biden\u201d and calls him \u201cthe worst President in American History.\u201d The plaque includes a number of derisive statements about Biden, referring to his \u201csevere mental decline,\u201d \u201cthe Biden Crime Family\u201d and his \u201cRadical Left handlers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

5h ago \/ 4:01 PM EST<\/p>\n

How the Trump administration pushed to reopen immigration cases, putting thousands at risk of deportation<\/h2>\n
\n

More than 117,000 immigrants \u2014 at least half of whom have lived in the country a decade or more \u2014 face potential deportation after the Trump administration pushed to reopen cases previously paused by an immigration judge, an NBC News analysis shows.<\/p>\n

Most of those requests to reopen, also known as \u201cre-calendaring\u201d cases, were filed in Arizona, California, Florida and New York.<\/p>\n

In California, more than 30,000 cases were moved to be re-calendared, a 14,000% increase from the start of the Trump administration\u2019s second term in January to October compared with the same period in the last year of Joe Biden\u2019s term.<\/p>\n

Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

5h ago \/ 3:36 PM EST<\/p>\n

Senate votes to confirm Jared Isaacman to be NASA administrator<\/h2>\n
\n

The Senate voted 67-30 to confirm Jared Isaacman<\/a> to be the head of NASA.<\/p>\n

Trump n<\/a>ominated<\/a> Isaacman<\/a> in November for the second time, after he abruptly r<\/a>evoked<\/a> Isaacman’s first nomination in May, citing “a thorough review of prior associations.”<\/p>\n

Isaacman, founder and CEO of the payment processing company Shift4, has never worked for NASA or the federal government.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

6h ago \/ 2:41 PM EST<\/p>\n

In Senate testimony, FCC chairman says his agency isn\u2019t independent<\/h2>\n
\n

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, testifying today before a Senate committee, said the FCC is not an independent government agency \u2014 a position that counters his previous public statements and the office\u2019s own website.<\/p>\n

In an exchange with Sen. Ben Ray Luj\u00e1n, D-N.M., Carr said the FCC is \u201cnot formally an independent agency\u201d because, he said, commissioners can be removed by the president.<\/p>\n

Luj\u00e1n asked whether an FCC online mission statement characterizing the agency as \u201cindependent\u201d was \u201clying.\u201d Carr replied, \u201cPossibly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

7h ago \/ 1:38 PM EST<\/p>\n

Senate passes Defense program bill, sending it to Trump’s desk<\/h2>\n
\n

The Senate voted 77-20 to pass the National Defense Authorization Act, the massive defense program authorization bill that lays out the military programs and provisions that will later be funded through the defense appropriations bill.<\/p>\n

The bill includes a\u00a0provision that would restrict the defense secretary\u2019s travel budget to 75% until he \u201cprovides to the Committees on Armed Services of the House of Representatives and the Senate unedited video of strikes conducted against designated terrorist organizations in the area of responsibility of the United States Southern Command.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bill, which has already passed the House, now goes to Trump\u2019s desk for his signature.<\/p>\n

\n

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said yesterday<\/a> that he would not release the video of the second Sept. 2 boat strike, which has generated controversy and led critics to accuse the U.S. military of potentially committing a war crime. <\/p>\n

“Of course, we\u2019re not going to release a top secret full, unedited video of that to the general public,” Hegseth said yesterday. <\/p>\n

The administration has released numerous videos of other boat strikes, touting them on social media. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

7h ago \/ 1:37 PM EST<\/p>\n

Trump to discuss military actions in Venezuela in address<\/h2>\n
\n

Don\u2019t expect Trump to roll out specific new policies in his address to the nation tonight, a senior administration official told NBC News. <\/p>\n

The official also said that while Trump will\u00a0<\/strong>make the administration\u2019s case for its actions so far with Venezuela, he isn\u2019t expected to break new ground there or speak specifically about the oil blockade he announced last night on Truth Social.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

8h ago \/ 1:11 PM EST<\/p>\n

Senate advances Jared Isaacman’s nomination for NASA administator<\/h2>\n
\n

The Senate voted, 67-30, to advance Jared Isaacman\u2019s nomination to be NASA administrator to a final confirmation vote.<\/p>\n

Isaacman’s final confirmation vote is expected to happen within the next two hours.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

8h ago \/ 1:04 PM EST<\/p>\n

Senate’s FCC oversight hearing is over<\/h2>\n
\n

The Senate’s FCC oversight committee hearing has ended. <\/p>\n

Carr faced questions regarding free speech, the pressure campaign against ABC and about the FCC’s independence. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

8h ago \/ 12:56 PM EST<\/p>\n

Thune pours cold water on Senate ACA subsidy extension vote by end of year<\/h2>\n
\n

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., did not seem to think the dynamics have changed in the Senate now that the House discharge petition for a clean three-year extension of the enhanced ACA subsidies has gotten the 218 signatures to force a vote.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if they have a sufficient number of signatures, I doubt they vote on it this week,\u201d<\/strong>\u00a0Thune said, adding that he predicts any vote on an extension “is going to be a very probably partisan vote.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now that the discharge petition has 218 votes, it’s still not likely that the House will vote on the measure until next year, after the holiday recess.<\/p>\n

\n

“We\u2019ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” the senate majority leader added.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on the Senate floor blamed House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Thune for rising health care costs, citing their opposition to passing an extension of health care subsidies.<\/p>\n

“Republican leaders inside the House and the Senate are making it clear that they are opposed and will be responsible for health care costs rising through the roof,” Schumer said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

8h ago \/ 12:51 PM EST<\/p>\n

Jack Smith tells Congress he could prove Trump engaged in a \u2018criminal scheme\u2019 to overturn 2020 election<\/h2>\n
\n

Smith told a congressional committee that his team found \u201cproof beyond a reasonable doubt\u201d that President Donald Trump engaged in a \u201ccriminal scheme\u201d to overturn the results of the 2020 election,<\/a> according to portions of his opening statement obtained by NBC News.<\/p>\n

Trump also \u201crepeatedly tried to obstruct justice\u201d to keep secret his retention of classified documents found during an FBI search in Mar-a-Lago, Smith told members of the House Judiciary Committee during a closed-door hearing.<\/p>\n

Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

9h ago \/ 12:18 PM EST<\/p>\n

Speaker Mike Johnson says he has ‘not lost control’ of the House <\/h2>\n
\n

Speaker Mike Johnson said he has \u201cnot lost control\u201d of the House after four House Republicans signed on to the Democratic health care discharge petition this morning. He described what appeared to be an animated discussion between him and Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., on the House floor as \u201cintense fellowship.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLook, we have the smallest majority in U.S. history,\u201d Johnson said. \u201cThese are not normal times. There are processes and procedures in the House that are less frequently used when there are larger majorities, and when you have the luxury of having 10 or 15 people who disagree on something, you know, you don\u2019t have to deal with it. But when you have a razor-thin margin, as we do, then all the procedures in the book people think are on the table, and that, that\u2019s the difference.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"House<\/p>\n

<\/span>Speaker Mike Johnson speaks with reporters as he departs a vote at the Capitol today.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Francis Chung \/ Politico via AP<\/span><\/p>\n<\/figure>\n

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., also spoke to reporters about the moderate Republicans\u2019 fissure, explaining that \u201cin a narrow majority, it\u2019s par for the course.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

9h ago \/ 12:00 PM EST<\/p>\n

House moves forward on health care bill debate<\/h2>\n
\n

The House approved a rule to proceed with debate on the Republican health care bill. The House is scheduled to vote on the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act during the 5:30 p.m. vote series.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rep. Jen Kiggans, R-Va., was the only Republican who voted against the rule.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

9h ago \/ 11:53 AM EST<\/p>\n

DOJ must release Epstein files by Friday or risk repercussions, law\u2019s co-author says <\/h2>\n
\n

One of the sponsors of the law requiring the release of the investigative files relating to sex offender\u00a0Jeffrey Epstein<\/a>\u00a0said he\u2019s giving the Justice Department the \u201cbenefit of the doubt\u201d that it will make the files public by Friday \u2014 warning that there would be repercussions if it doesn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Epstein Files Transparency Act<\/a>, which was signed into law last month by Trump, \u201ccalls for the release, publicly, of these files,\u201d Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., told NBC News in an interview.<\/p>\n

He said officials at the Justice Department have not responded to requests for information about how and when the files will be made public, but noted that the DOJ successfully\u00a0moved to unseal grand jury records<\/a>\u00a0in the case, which he takes as an indication it is trying to comply.<\/p>\n

The law requires the DOJ to make the files public by Dec. 19.<\/p>\n

Khanna said in an interview Monday that he believes the information \u201cwill show in certain cases how powerful men said that they had control over the local police in New York or had contacts with the FBI and told survivors not to report things because they would not go anywhere. That needs to come out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the full story here. <\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

9h ago \/ 11:43 AM EST<\/p>\n

Klobuchar presses Carr on whether Trump’s comments about Rob Reiner were appropriate <\/h2>\n
\n

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said she wanted to bring up social media and asked Carr if it was appropriate for Trump to vilify Rob Reiner<\/a> after his son Nick Reiner was arrested and booked on suspicion of murdering the filmmaker and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner.<\/p>\n

“Do you think it\u2019s appropriate for, after a horrific murder and the stabbing, the stabbing of Rob Reiner and his wife, do you think it\u2019s appropriate for someone to say that it happened, “due to the anger he caused others through his massive, unyielding and incurable affliction with a mind-crippling disease known as Trump derangement syndrome. He was known to have driven people crazy by his raging obsession of President Donald J Trump with his obvious paranoia reaching new heights,'” she said, reading Trump’s Truth Social post from Monday. <\/p>\n

“Do you think that\u2019s appropriate for the president of the United States to do that? And if Jimmy Kimmel would have said that, would have you have threatened to take him off the air?” she asked. <\/p>\n

\n

Carr responded, “Senator, look, Democrats on this dais are accusing me of engaging in censorship, and now you\u2019re trying to encourage me to police speech on the internet.”<\/p>\n

She said that Trump’s comments were “cruel.” \u201cI think they hurt President Trump to say that kind of thing. I think it hurts him with trust from the American people. But this is the kind of stuff that\u2019s going on right now, and yet you are going after broadcast stations, except for Fox, and making threats.” <\/p>\n

Asked if he thinks there should be no rules in place for tech platforms, Carr said, “There\u2019s no public interest obligation, there is no license.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

10h ago \/ 11:17 AM EST<\/p>\n

Cruz asks FCC’s Brendan Carr about the public interest standard and First Amendment protections<\/h2>\n
\n
\n

\"Cruz<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In his first question of Carr, Cruz asked Carr about whether he believes the FCC’s public interest standard should be understood to encompass First Amendment protections to ensure the agency can’t be used to chill speech. <\/p>\n

The GOP committee chair began the line of questioning by saying he wanted to focus on free speech. He said “leftists” tried to stop a routine renewal of a Fox-owned broadcast station over complaints about 2020 election coverage. He then criticized ABC late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel, saying he’s “angry, overtly partisan and profoundly unfunny.”<\/p>\n

“That sadly is true for most late-night comedians today who seem to have been collectively broken by President Trump\u2019s election. Jimmy\u2019s remarks about Charlie Kirk were tasteless, and ABC and its affiliates would have been fully within their rights to fire him or simply to no longer air his program,” Cruz said. “That was their choice, but what government cannot do is force private entities to take actions that the government cannot take directly. Government officials threatening adverse consequences for disfavored content is an unconstitutional coercion that chills protected speech.”<\/p>\n

\n

Cruz then asked Carr about the FCC’s public interest standard, stemming from the Communications Act of 1934, which requires that broadcast licensees operate in the \u201cpublic interest, convenience and necessity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carr, who threatened ABC over Kimmel’s comments on Kirk, agreed with Cruz, saying that the examples the senator laid out of “weaponization during the Biden years are perfect examples.” <\/p>\n

“The Fox case you mentioned was a renewal for a broadcast TV license, and petitioners sought to have the FCC not renew it based on content that aired on a separate cable channel,” Carr said. “In a cable context, it\u2019s entirely different. There\u2019s no license, there\u2019s no public interest standard.”<\/p>\n

“Similarly, we saw Democrats in Congress write letters to cable companies pressuring them to drop Fox News, OAN and Newsmax because they disagree with the political perspectives of those cable channels. And there again, it was cable, no broadcast license, no public interest standard, so the FCC has to write within the four corners of our precedents to be consistent with the Communications Act in the First Amendment concerns as well.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

10h ago \/ 10:58 AM EST<\/p>\n

Jack Smith facing an ‘unprecedented retribution campaign,’ his lawyer says<\/h2>\n
\n

Jack Smith\u2019s attorney, Lanny Breuer, delivered remarks ahead of the House Judiciary Committee deposition.<\/p>\n

Breuer said Smith \u201cis showing tremendous courage in light of the remarkable and unprecedented retribution campaign against him by this administration and this White House.\u201d<\/p>\n

Breur added that his client conducted the investigations in question \u201cbased on the facts and based on the law and nothing more.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

11h ago \/ 10:21 AM EST<\/p>\n

Democrats secure enough GOP support to force a House vote on Affordable Care Act subsidies <\/h2>\n
\n

Rep. Katherine Clark, the Democratic whip in the House, announced that Democrats secured the necessary 218 signatures on a discharge petition to force a vote on an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year. <\/p>\n

“This is how we fight back for the American people,” she said in a post <\/a>on<\/a> X.<\/a><\/p>\n

A handful of Republican lawmakers signed onto the petition: Reps. Mike Lawler of New York, Rob Bresnahan of Pennsylvania, Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania. <\/p>\n

The signatures are now frozen. In seven legislative days, anyone who signed the petition can force a vote on the measure. With the House leaving town Friday, a vote could not take place until the new year.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cAs I\u2019ve stated many times before, the only policy that is worse than a clean three-year extension without any reforms is a policy of complete expiration without any bridge,\u201d Fitzpatrick said in a statement.\u00a0\u201cUnfortunately, it is House leadership themselves that have forced this outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fitzpatrick was the first Republican lawmaker to sign onto the petition. <\/p>\n

Lawler said in a statement that “when leadership blocks action entirely, Congress has a responsibility to act.”<\/p>\n

“My priority is ensuring Hudson Valley families aren\u2019t caught in the gridlock,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

11h ago \/ 10:19 AM EST<\/p>\n

House to vote on health care bill today<\/h2>\n
\n

The House is set to vote today on a GOP-led health care bill. <\/p>\n

The bill includes provisions<\/a> such as codifying Association Health Plans and \u201cchoice arrangements\u201d and efforts to increase transparency from pharmacy benefit managers. It does not include an extension on Affordable Care Act subsidies.<\/p>\n

Republican leadership aides previously said lawmakers were developing an Affordable Care Act amendment to the bill, but House Speaker Mike Johnson said yesterday he wouldn’t call the vote. The move guarantees that the subsidies will expire at the end of the month. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

12h ago \/ 9:22 AM EST<\/p>\n

Former special counsel Jack Smith to testify behind closed doors before House Judiciary Committee<\/h2>\n
\n

Former special counsel Jack Smith is set to testify behind closed doors at a deposition before the House Judiciary Committee today. <\/p>\n

The interview is part of the GOP-led panel’s probe of Smith’s office and the investigations into Trump.<\/p>\n

Smith’s lawyer said earlier this month that though he pushed to testify publicly, that request was rejected by Republicans on the committee.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cNearly six weeks ago, Jack offered to voluntarily appear before the House Judiciary Committee in an open hearing to answer any questions lawmakers have about his investigation into President Trump\u2019s alleged efforts to unlawfully overturn the election results and retention of classified documents,” Peter Koski said.<\/p>\n

“We are disappointed that offer was rejected, and that the American people will be denied the opportunity to hear directly from Jack on these topics,” he continued. “Jack looks forward to meeting with the committee later this month to discuss his work and clarify the various misconceptions about his investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

12h ago \/ 9:02 AM EST<\/p>\n

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to testify before Senate committee<\/h2>\n
\n

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is set to testify this morning before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee at an oversight hearing alongside two FCC commissioners. <\/p>\n

Carr came under fire in September after he threatened to take regulatory action against ABC after late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel’s comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. The warning prompted ABC to suspend Kimmel’s show for about a week<\/a> that month. <\/p>\n

In September, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who chairs the committee Carr is testifying before, was one of the first congressional Republicans to\u00a0criticize Carr<\/a>\u00a0for his threats. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it is unbelievably dangerous for government to put itself in the position of saying we\u2019re going to decide what speech we like and what we don\u2019t, and we\u2019re going to threaten to take you off air if we don\u2019t like what you\u2019re saying,” Cruz said on his podcast after Kimmel\u2019s show was suspended.\u00a0“I like Brendan Carr. He\u2019s a good guy, he\u2019s the chairman of the FCC. I work closely with him, but\u00a0what he said there is dangerous as hell.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

13h ago \/ 8:26 AM EST<\/p>\n

White House scrambles to address Susie Wiles\u2019 explosive Vanity Fair interviews <\/h2>\n
\n

Susie Wiles generally helps quietly shape headlines. She is rarely the focus of them.<\/p>\n

That changed in dramatic fashion Tuesday after Vanity Fair\u00a0published<\/a>\u00a0a deeply reported profile of the 68-year-old White House chief of staff, whose decadeslong career in politics has been defined by a measured, steady-the-ship tone, never one that could be construed as undermining her boss.<\/p>\n

In the two-part Vanity Fair piece \u2014 which included 11 interviews over nearly a year, with the White House\u2019s cooperation \u2014 Wiles comes off as far more candid than her public persona. She not only speaks openly about both Trump and those who make up the core of his administration, but appears to acknowledge that at times she has been at odds with some of the policies that have been central to Trump\u2019s second term. While not unusual for a chief of staff to disagree with the president they serve, those concerns generally remain part of private conversations.<\/p>\n

Wiles revealed there had been \u201chuge disagreements\u201d over implementing tariffs, acknowledged that the administration must \u201clook harder\u201d at its process for mass deportation and said she had to \u201cget on board\u201d with Trump\u2019s decision to give\u00a0blanket pardons to Jan. 6 defendants<\/a>. She said she initially believed only those who did not commit violent acts should be pardoned.<\/p>\n

The profile prompted an all-hands-on-deck pushback from the White House and Trump\u2019s political orbit. The central talking point became that the profile lacked context, and supporters blasted the outlet for being unfair rather than offering any direct refutation of the authenticity of quotes or what was reported.<\/p>\n

Read the full story here.<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

13h ago \/ 8:26 AM EST<\/p>\n

Trump expands travel ban, adding 5 more countries and imposing new limits on others <\/h2>\n
\n

The\u00a0Trump administration<\/a>\u00a0is expanding its\u00a0travel ban<\/a>\u00a0to include five more countries and impose new limits on others.<\/p>\n

This move yesterday is part of ongoing efforts to tighten U.S. entry standards for travel and immigration. The decision follows the arrest of an Afghan national suspect in the shooting of two National Guard troops over the Thanksgiving weekend.<\/p>\n

In June, Trump announced that citizens of 12 countries would be banned from visiting the United States and those from seven others would face restrictions. The decision resurrected a hallmark policy of his first term.<\/p>\n

At the time the ban included Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen and heightened restrictions on visitors from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, the Republican administration announced it was expanding the list of countries whose citizens are banned from entering the U.S. to Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, South Sudan and Syria. The administration also fully restricted travel for people with Palestinian-Authority-issued travel documents.<\/p>\n

Read the full story here. <\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

14m ago \/ 8:16 PM EST House rejects war powers resolutions The\u00a0House\u00a0rejected a pair of war powers resolutions tonight. In a 210-216 vote, the lower chamber rejected a\u00a0resolution\u00a0from\u00a0Rep. Greg Meeks, D-N.Y.,\u00a0that would direct the president \u201cto\u00a0remove United States Armed Forces from hostilities with presidentially designated terrorist organizations in the Western Hemisphere.\u201d Two\u00a0Republicans \u2014 Don Bacon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8397,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8396\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}