Republicans defy Speaker Johnson to force House vote on extending ACA subsidies  —  Four centrist Republicans broke with Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday and signed onto a Democratic-led petition that will force a House vole on extending for three years an enhanced pandemic-era subsidy …

Jack Smith makes his case against Trump in closed-door deposition … He maintained that this team found evidence to prove “beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power.”

FBI's No. 2 quietly tells colleagues he's moving on  —  Speculation and anticipation have gripped the nation's premier law enforcement agency over the future of one of its top leaders, FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino.  —  Bongino has quietly told confidants he plans to formally leave …

Republicans are quiet quitting on Trump  —  The White House chief of staff says the president has “an alcoholic's personality”  —  Donald Trump is worried that Republicans aren't as afraid of him as they used to be.  Despite his self-billing as a dealmaker, the president has only ever had one tool to control his party: fear.

Trump moves to dismantle major US climate research center in Colorado  —  WASHINGTON ‒ The Trump administration is moving to dismantle the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado, according to a senior White House official, taking aim at one of the world's leading climate research labs.

Trump Dangles Cash Payments to Buoy Voters' Views of the Economy  —  With tariffs unpopular and prices still high, the White House has teased the promise of tariff rebates and large tax refunds next year.  —  Tariffs are unpopular, prices remain stubbornly high and Americans are souring on President Trump's handling of the economy.

They prosecuted the Capitol rioters.  Now the rioters and the DOJ are after them.  —  After Trump's mass pardons of the U.S. Capitol rioters, some have gained influence inside the Justice Department, meeting with officials to push for prosecutions of the federal lawyers who once helped convict them, Reuters found.

Senate passes defense bill that defies Trump and forces sharing of boat strike videos … Lawmakers are using the sprawling policy bill to demand the Pentagon hand over unedited videos of strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats near Latin America.  The bill restricts a quarter …

American Academy of Pediatrics loses HHS funding after criticizing RFK Jr.  —  HHS cuts key AAP grants, citing concerns about “identity-based language” and insufficient focus on agency priorities.  The organization said the cuts could harm child health.

Senator Reaches Damning Conclusions After Classified Briefing With Hegseth, Rubio  —  Sen. Chris Murphy trashed a meeting with the Cabinet duo about the Trump administration's boat bombings.  —  Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said a classified meeting with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth …

Inside the Trump Administration's Man-Made Hunger Crisis  —  On July 18, a mild, overcast night in Nairobi, Kenya, a team of President Donald Trump's top foreign aid advisers ducked into a meeting room at the Tribe Hotel, their luxury accommodations in the city's diplomatic quarter, for a private dinner.

Vladimir Putin predicts European ‘swine’ backing Ukraine will lose power  —  Russian president vows to liberate ‘historic lands’ in hardline speech, showing no signs of compromise on invasion goals  —  Max Seddon in Berlin, Christopher Miller in Kyiv and Henry Foy in Brussels

Harvard Secretly Investigates Students Over Larry Summers Video on Epstein  —  The students face discipline for recording Mr. Summers, the former Harvard president, discussing his ties to Jeffrey Epstein in a Harvard class.  —  Harvard officials have opened a secret disciplinary investigation …

Senators freeze Coast Guard admiral's promotion over swastika, noose policy  —  Adm. Kevin Lunday had condemned both symbols and directed they be prohibited, but a new workplace harassment policy downgrading them to “potentially divisive” was allowed to take effect.  —  Just now

An A+++++  Economy, My A++  —  Trump made big boasts but he isn't delivering  —  When Politico recently asked Donald Trump to grade the current U.S. economy, he replied “A-plus-plus-plus-plus-plus.”  He made this boast at a time when actual economic data were still scarce …

Senators Press FBI Over Failure to Investigate Epstein's Lawyer and Accountant  —  The FBI never interviewed Darren Indyke or Richard Kahn about their work for Epstein; they deny knowing about Epstein's crimes  —  A group of Democratic senators is asking the Justice Department to explain …

Norman Podhoretz, 1930-2025  —  My father died tonight, December 16, a month shy of his 96th birthday.  Norman Podhoretz passed peacefully and without pain, with a new translation of The Odyssey on his desk that had been sent to him by his friend Roger Hertog.

What Is an American?  —  There are two competing visions now emerging on the American right, and they are incompatible.  One vision of American identity is based on lineage, blood and soil: Inherited attributes matter most.  The purest form of an American is a so-called heritage American …

Hegseth overhauling chaplain corps, targeting ‘new age’ concepts  —  Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Tuesday he is overhauling the military's chaplain corps, which provide religious and spiritual support to members of the armed forces and their families, saying he intended to target “new age” concepts.

John Catsimatidis on Donald Trump, Immigration, and New York Republicans  —  John Catsimatidis — a businessman, Republican, political donor, radio host and station owner, 2013 candidate for New York City mayor, Donald Trump ally, and (former) Curtis Sliwa employer — spoke with The New York Editorial Board …

Trump administration admits to targeting blue states for energy grant cuts  —  Justice Department lawyers argue in a court filing that it is constitutional for the administration to withhold funding based on partisan politics. … Government reporters Meryl Kornfield and Hannah Natanson …

A retired policeman was jailed over an anti-Trump meme.  Now he's suing.  —  Attorneys for 61-year-old Larry Bushart say a Tennessee sheriff violated the First Amendment: “In America, we do not jail people for political speech.” … A retired Tennessee policeman who spent more than a month …

FCC chair suggests agency isn't independent, word cut from mission statement  —  FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in his Wednesday Senate testimony that the agency he governs “is not an independent agency, formally speaking.”  During his testimony, the word “independent” was removed from the FCC's mission statement on its website.

Appeals court clears way for Trump to keep National Guard on DC streets … In particular, the judges said it would be “constitutionally troubling” for the president to borrow National Guard troops from one state to conduct law enforcement missions in another “non-consenting” state.

Byron York points out Susie Wiles ‘invited’ Vanity Fair controversy  —  Washington Examiner chief political correspondent Byron York suggested White House chief of staff Susie Wiles should have expected a negative outcome from agreeing to an interview with Vanity Fair.