{"id":8419,"date":"2025-12-19T02:18:50","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T02:18:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2025\/12\/19\/live-updates-trump-signs-executive-order-to-reclassify-cannabis-kennedy-center-board-votes-to-change-buildings-name-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T02:18:50","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T02:18:50","slug":"live-updates-trump-signs-executive-order-to-reclassify-cannabis-kennedy-center-board-votes-to-change-buildings-name-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/2025\/12\/19\/live-updates-trump-signs-executive-order-to-reclassify-cannabis-kennedy-center-board-votes-to-change-buildings-name-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Live updates: Trump signs executive order to reclassify cannabis; Kennedy Center board votes to change building’s name – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"
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32m ago \/ 8:44 PM EST<\/p>\n

Senate votes on party lines to confirm 97 Trump nominees all at once<\/h2>\n
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The Senate tonight voted along party lines, 53-43, to confirm a third batch of Trump nominees all at one time using a new procedural tool it unlocked by nuking the Senate rules so it can confirm nominees en bloc instead of one by one.<\/p>\n

Tonight’s batch consisted of 97 nominees<\/a>, including former Rep. Anthony D’Esposito<\/a> of New York to be inspector general of the Labor Department and Media Research Center founder Brent Bozell III<\/a> to be U.S. ambassador to South Africa.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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47m ago \/ 8:30 PM EST<\/p>\n

Erika Kirk endorses JD Vance for president in 2028<\/h2>\n
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Erika Kirk,\u00a0widow of assassinated<\/a>\u00a0Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk, endorsed Vice President\u00a0JD Vance<\/a>\u00a0for the 2028 presidential election in a speech opening the group\u2019s America Fest annual conference tonight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are going to get my husband\u2019s friend JD Vance elected\u201d in 2028, she told thousands of activists at the Phoenix Convention Center. The end of Kirk\u2019s statement was drowned out by cheers for the endorsement.<\/p>\n

The backing of Turning Point USA, one of the most influential conservative organizations \u2014 particularly among young activists and MAGA voters \u2014 could provide a major boost to Vance if he seeks the presidency in three years.<\/p>\n

Kirk, who took over as head of her late husband\u2019s organization, had previously said a Turning Point USA endorsement of Vance was\u00a0\u201cin the works.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0Tonight, she put a fine point on her support for Vance and for helping Republicans try to hold their majorities in the House and the Senate in next year\u2019s midterm elections.<\/p>\n

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

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2h ago \/ 7:49 PM EST<\/p>\n

Democrats release more Epstein photos with a promise of more to come<\/h2>\n
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Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s estate has turned over roughly 95,000 photographs to the House Oversight Committee. So far, the public has seen only a tiny fraction of that trove of files.<\/p>\n

Today, Democrats on that committee released\u00a068 photos<\/a>\u00a0from the Epstein estate, including photos of the convicted sex offender with high-profile people. The release and\u00a0another one last week<\/a>\u00a0by Oversight Democrats include dozens of photos of Epstein posing with Trump, his top ally Steve Bannon, former President Bill Clinton, former Clinton Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, movie director Woody Allen and others. All have denied any wrongdoing, and none have been charged related to Epstein\u2019s crimes.<\/p>\n

The latest batch of photos comes just one day before tomorrow’s deadline<\/a>\u00a0when the Justice Department will be required, under a new law, to release all of the government\u2019s Epstein files with very limited exceptions.<\/p>\n

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

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3h ago \/ 6:56 PM EST<\/p>\n

Trump signs National Defense Authorization Act<\/h2>\n
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Trump has signed the annual National Defense Authorization Act, a sweeping defense <\/a>policy <\/a>bill<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The signing, initially scheduled as a press event, comes after the Senate approved the bill yesterday.<\/p>\n

The measure includes a provision that would limit Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth\u2019s travel budget<\/a> if he doesn\u2019t release video of recent military strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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4h ago \/ 6:01 PM EST<\/p>\n

DNC won’t release its report on what went wrong for Democrats in 2024<\/h2>\n
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The Democratic National Committee won\u2019t release its completed postmortem of the 2024 election, a DNC official confirmed to NBC News.<\/p>\n

DNC Chair Ken Martin ordered an autopsy shortly after he took over as the national party chairman this year, stressing that the report should be released to help the party learn from its mistakes. But Martin said in a statement today that his top priority is to not distract from helping the party \u201cwin.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe completed a comprehensive review of what happened in 2024 and are already putting our learnings into motion. And we\u2019re winning again \u2014 even in places that haven\u2019t gone blue in decades,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn our conversations with stakeholders from across the Democratic ecosystem, we are aligned on what\u2019s important, and that\u2019s learning from the past and winning the future. Here\u2019s our North Star: does this help us win? If the answer is no, it\u2019s a distraction from the core mission,\u201d Martin\u2019s statement continues.<\/p>\n

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

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5h ago \/ 4:58 PM EST<\/p>\n

What the November election results in one key state mean for the battle for the House<\/h2>\n
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As both parties race to redraw congressional lines before next year\u2019s midterm elections, Virginia represents one of Democrats\u2019 best chances to blunt Republicans\u2019 attempts to pad their congressional majorities.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear whether Virginia Democrats will be able to execute a high-wire act to successfully change their map for next year\u2019s elections. Regardless, last month\u2019s election results highlight how an energized Democratic Party could win back control of the House next year.<\/p>\n

High turnout helped propel Democratic Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger in more Republican-leaning areas, and Spanberger improved on Democrats\u2019 2024 margins in the most diverse congressional districts, a new NBC News Decision Desk analysis of the governor\u2019s race results showed.<\/p>\n

Throughout the year, Trump\u2019s strong performance in 2024 with nonwhite voters and younger voters has served as something of a baseline for Republicans who, at his behest, touched off a redistricting arms race that\u2019s expected to continue into next year. The Virginia gubernatorial results, broken down by congressional district, underscore how quickly voters can shift from one election to the next and highlight some of the risks of the extraordinary effort.<\/p>\n

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

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6h ago \/ 4:11 PM EST<\/p>\n

HHS moves to slash funding and access to care for transgender minors<\/h2>\n
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The Trump administration announced that it would begin to take steps aimed at ending transition-related care \u2014 or what the Department of Health and Human Services has termed \u201csex-rejecting procedures\u201d \u2014 for minors nationwide.<\/p>\n

The proposals \u2014 which, if enacted, would pull federal funding from hospitals that offer transgender care to minors \u2014 are the latest effort by \tthe administration to restrict access to certain transgender care.<\/p>\n

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

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7h ago \/ 3:06 PM EST<\/p>\n

Former Rep. Joe Kennedy III says Trump can’t rename the Kennedy Center<\/h2>\n
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Former Rep. Joe Kennedy III, D-Mass., a grandnephew of the late president, responded to news that the Kennedy Center board had voted to rename the arts institution the Trump-Kennedy Center.<\/a><\/p>\n

“The Kennedy Center is a living memorial to a fallen president and named for President Kennedy by federal law. It can no sooner be renamed than can someone rename the Lincoln Memorial, no matter what anyone says,” said Kennedy, a former board member at the Kennedy Center.<\/p>\n

In July, after House Republicans proposed renaming the Kennedy Center, four sources familiar with the matter told NBC News <\/a>that the plans would violate the law that created it.<\/p>\n

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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7h ago \/ 2:29 PM EST<\/p>\n

Trump blames Democrats for expiring Obamacare subsidies<\/h2>\n
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Trump continued to blame Democrats for the Affordable Care Act tax subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year, leading to higher health care costs next year for many people. <\/p>\n

“I want that money to go to the people directly and let the people buy their own health care, and they’ll get much better health care than they get with the ‘Unaffordable Care Act,’ as it’s known by a lot of people,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office when he was asked whether he’ll allow the subsidies to expire Dec. 31. <\/p>\n

Asked whether he wants Congress to extend the subsidies, Trump said: “I’d like not to be able to do it. I’d like to get right into this. … I don’t know why we have to extend. This could be done rapidly if the Democrats would come along.”<\/p>\n

“We have a problem,” he continued, adding that Democrats are “going to have to decide do they want to do the right thing, or do they want to be beholden to the, you know, insurance companies.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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10h ago \/ 12:12 PM EST<\/p>\n

Trump’s military bonus will draw $2.6 billion from military housing funds<\/h2>\n
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Trump\u2019s announcement that U.S. troops would get a $1,776 bonus in their stockings this year will cost about $2.6 billion, and the one-time payment will come from military housing funds, according to a senior administration official. Trump directed Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to draw the funds as a \u201cbasic allowance for housing supplement\u201d to all eligible service members, from the lowest-ranking enlisted troops to colonels or captains.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The pay, a \u201cwarrior dividend\u201d for about 1.45 million troops, includes compensating those eligible recipients even if they are not receiving BAH, or what the military calls basic housing allowance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

The money is from the \u201cone big, beautiful bill,\u201d not tariffs, according to a Senate Appropriations source. That bill allocated $2.9 billion for basic housing allowance to reduce out-of-pocket costs for service members for two years. The Pentagon decided to give the money as a one-time payment instead of creating precedent for housing costs down the line, according to that person.<\/p>\n

It applies to reserve component service members, colonels or captains and below, and to active-duty orders of 31 days or more in duration as of Nov. 30.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

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All enlisted ranks are eligible, from private to senior enlisted, as well as officers, from lieutenants to Army or Air Force or Marine colonels or Navy captains, what the military refers to in rank as an 0-6. It does not include generals or admirals.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis one-time payment exemplifies the Department\u2019s ongoing commitment to improving the housing and quality of life for our military members and their families,\u201d the person said in the statement.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cPresident Trump\u2019s administration recognizes the hard work of our service members with this one-time Warrior Dividend, which places funds directly in the hands of our military members and their families, helping to improve their housing and quality of life,\u201d\u00a0the statement said.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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10h ago \/ 12:01 PM EST<\/p>\n

Senate Majority Leader John Thune says extension of ACA subsidies ‘is not happening’ in the Senate<\/h2>\n
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., reiterated to reporters that a three-year extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies “is not happening” in his chamber.<\/p>\n

Democrats have garnered enough Republican support to force a vote on the measure in the House. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think a straight-up extension is a waste of money,\u201d Thune said, adding that he would not put the House extension up for a vote in the Senate without amending it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Affordable Care Act subsidies expire at the end of the year, which will cause health care premiums to rise.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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10h ago \/ 11:55 AM EST<\/p>\n

Transportation secretary’s daughter calls to ‘abolish’ TSA<\/h2>\n
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Evita Duffy-Alfonso, the daughter of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, urged Trump and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem this morning to abolish the Transportation Security Administration. <\/p>\n

“I nearly missed my flight this morning after the TSA made me wait 15 minutes for a pat-down because I\u2019m pregnant and didn\u2019t feel like getting radiation exposure from their body scanner,” Duffy-Alonso, an independent journalist who has appeared on Fox News, wrote in a series of posts on X<\/a> that ripped the agency. <\/p>\n

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“The agents were passive-aggressive, rude, and tried to pressure me and another pregnant woman into just walking through the scanner because it\u2019s ‘safe.’ After finally getting the absurdly invasive pat-down, I barely made my flight. All this for an unconstitutional agency that isn\u2019t even good at its job,” she wrote.<\/p>\n

Asked by another person on X why she hadn’t reached out to her father, she noted that the TSA is a part of the Department of Homeland Security and said that if her father were in charge of the TSA, “he\u2019d radically limit it and lobby Congress to abolish it.” <\/p>\n

“TSA = unreasonable, warrantless searches of passengers and their property. That means it violates the Fourth Amendment and is therefore unconstitutional. Pls abolish,” she wrote in another post<\/a>, tagging both Trump and Noem. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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10h ago \/ 11:37 AM EST<\/p>\n

House passes bill aimed at making gender-affirming care for minors a federal crime<\/h2>\n
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The House passed a bill last night that would make it a federal criminal offense to provide gender-affirming care to minors. The legislation, introduced by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., now heads to the Senate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The\u00a0Protect Children\u2019s Innocence Act\u00a0<\/a>would make it a crime to \u201cperform procedures or provide medications (e.g., hormonal treatments) to a minor for the purpose of changing their body to correspond to a sex that differs from their biological sex,\u201d according to the bill\u2019s summary. There are exceptions for procedures for \u201cindividuals who have both ovarian and testicular tissue or abnormal sex chromosome structure or hormones.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The vote was 216-211. Four Republicans voted against the measure: Gabe Evans of Colorado, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Mike Kennedy of Utah and Mike Lawler of New York. Three Democrats supported it: Henry Cuellar of Texas, Don Davis of North Carolina and Vicente Gonzalez of Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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This afternoon, the House will vote on a bill from Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, called the\u00a0Do No Harm in Medicaid Act<\/a>, which would prohibit federal Medicaid payment for gender transition procedures for people under age 18. The bill does have\u00a0exceptions<\/a>, including for procedures that are intended to rectify early puberty, reverse previous transition procedures or prevent imminent death. If the bill passes, it would then head to the Senate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Rep. Sarah McBride, D-Del., the first openly transgender member of Congress, said yesterday that Republicans are \u201cobsessed with trans people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey are bringing forward a bill that would put parents and providers at risk of being jailed, literally jailed for affirming their transgender child and following medical best practices,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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11h ago \/ 10:53 AM EST<\/p>\n

Former Alabama star quarterback ends lieutenant governor bid to take coaching gig<\/h2>\n
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A.J. McCarron, the former University of Alabama back-to-back national championship-winning quarterback, is ending his bid for Alabama lieutenant governor to accept a job coaching a professional football team in his home state. <\/p>\n

McCarron had been running in a crowded GOP primary to be Alabama’s next No. 2. But he announced in a statement that he will end his bid<\/a> and was named the head coach of the Birmingham Stallions, a professional football team in the United Football League.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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11h ago \/ 10:36 AM EST<\/p>\n

Senate Judiciary Democrats request hearing on Caribbean boat strikes<\/h2>\n
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Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are calling on Republicans to hold a hearing \u201con the Trump administration\u2019s executions of alleged drug traffickers via military strikes on boats at sea.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a letter to Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, they wrote that at least 95 people have been killed in 25 separate strikes. The committee said it has jurisdiction over extrajudicial killings, murder, war crimes and the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel, which wrote a classified memo providing cover for the killings. <\/p>\n

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\u201cThese strikes are extrajudicial killings and shocking violations of fundamental principles of due process and the right to life under U.S. and international law,\u201d they wrote in the letter, led by ranking member Dick Durbin, D-Ill. \u201cThe Administration\u2019s claims that the people it is killing are guilty of crimes, affiliated with a criminal or terrorist organization, or \u2018combatants\u2019 in a nonexistent armed conflict, do not render these extrajudicial killings any less unlawful.\u201d<\/p>\n

They continued: \u201cThere is not, nor can there be, any justification for state-sanctioned extrajudicial killings. Summary executions have no place in a constitutional democracy operating under the rule of law, no matter how heinous the accusations a government makes against someone. Nor can governments fabricate an armed conflict or falsely label people \u2018combatants\u2019 to kill them.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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12h ago \/ 9:50 AM EST<\/p>\n

Trump launches Freedom 250 group for country’s 250th anniversary events<\/h2>\n
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Trump launched a nonpartisan group called Freedom 250, which the organization said in a press release was “fulfilling the President\u2019s promise to deliver the\u00a0most extraordinary commemoration in American history.”<\/p>\n

The country’s 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence takes place next year. <\/p>\n

Freedom 250 announced a series of events next year as part of the anniversary commemoration, including a “Great American State Fair” on the National Mall from June 25-July 10, and a “major address” from Trump on the Fourth of July. <\/p>\n

Next fall, the administration will host “the first-ever Patriot Games,” an athletic competition of high school athletes. The group also announced a parade for Memorial Day and reiterated the president’s plans<\/a> to hold a UFC event at the White House during Flag Day, which is also Trump’s birthday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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13h ago \/ 8:39 AM EST<\/p>\n

Trump Media to merge with nuclear fusion company <\/h2>\n
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Trump Media & Technology will merge with a fusion power company in an all-stock deal that the companies said today is valued at more than $6 billion.<\/p>\n

Devin Nunes, the Republican congressman who resigned in 2021 to become the CEO of Trump Media, will be co-CEO of the new company with TAE Technologies CEO Michl Binderbauer.<\/p>\n

Shares of\u00a0Trump Media & Technology<\/a>, the parent company of Trump\u2019s Truth Social media platform, have tumbled 70% this year but jumped 20% before the opening bell today.<\/p>\n

TAE is a private company and the merger with Trump Media would create one of the first publicly traded nuclear fusion companies.<\/p>\n

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

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14h ago \/ 8:10 AM EST<\/p>\n

Trump to sign the\u00a0National\u00a0Defense\u00a0Authorization\u00a0Act\u00a0<\/h2>\n
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Trump is scheduled to sign the\u00a0National\u00a0Defense\u00a0Authorization\u00a0Act\u00a0today. The act is a massive defense bill, which lays out the military programs and provisions that will later be funded through the\u00a0defense appropriations bill.<\/p>\n

The Senate yesterday voted to pass the bill. It had already been passed by the House. <\/p>\n

The bill includes a provision to restrict Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s travel budget to 75% until he provides the House and Senate Armed services committees with “unedited video of strikes conducted against designated terrorist organizations in the area of responsibility of the United States Southern Command.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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14h ago \/ 7:50 AM EST<\/p>\n

Trump seeks to defend his economy in prime-time speech to the nation <\/h2>\n
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Amid slumping approval ratings,\u00a0President Donald Trump<\/a>\u00a0used a prime-time speech yesterday to deride his predecessor, assert that\u00a0his economic plan<\/a>\u00a0is working and suggest that Americans need to be patient as his policies start to kick in.<\/p>\n

Trump, in an 18-minute address from the White House, rolled out no new proposals apart from what he called a $1,776 \u201cwarrior dividend\u201d that will go to nearly 1.5 million military service members in honor of the nation\u2019s founding almost 250 years ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the checks are already on the way,\u201d he said. \u201cNo one understood that one until about 30 minutes ago; we made a lot more money than anyone thought because of tariffs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trump marshaled the power of incumbency to command broad television network coverage for a speech that largely reiterated points he has made in public appearances and interviews since he returned to office in January.<\/p>\n

He spoke at a faster clip than usual and for the most part appeared to stick to the prepared text. He rattled off\u00a0the price of eggs<\/a>, Thanksgiving turkeys and airline tickets\u00a0<\/strong>to amplify\u00a0his argument that costs are dropping<\/a>\u00a0on his watch and to persuade the nation that former President Joe Biden left behind \u201ca mess\u201d that will take time and effort to fix.<\/p>\n

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

32m ago \/ 8:44 PM EST Senate votes on party lines to confirm 97 Trump nominees all at once The Senate tonight voted along party lines, 53-43, to confirm a third batch of Trump nominees all at one time using a new procedural tool it unlocked by nuking the Senate rules so it can confirm […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8420,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8419","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\/8419","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=8419"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8419\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo973e36f5\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}