Washington, DC

1. After the Senate health vote
2. WH bullish on economy
3. Hawley dings Republicans
4. Escalation in Venezuela
5. Dems warn over WBD deal
6. Private markets vote today
7. Crypto bill’s prospects
8. Entitlements worries

PDB: Fed cuts rates

US reports trade balance … Noem testifies before House … Oracle shares ⬇️ 11%

Senators try to look past health votes

Playing today in the Senate: failure theater. Democrats’ three-year extension of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies isn’t going anywhere, and neither is the Republican plan for health savings accounts. But could there be a second show that looks different? “I guess we have to demonstrate our failures first before we can apply our successes,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, one of the more optimistic voices. There’s a palpable distrust underlying the entire exercise: Democrats think Republicans are ideologically opposed to propping up Obamacare, and Republicans think Democrats want a campaign issue more than a solution. Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., called the HSA plan “the most partisan sh*t you’ve ever seen.” And Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., who helped write the bill, is skeptical of Democrats. “We need to see if they want to deal. I don’t know if they want to.”

— Burgess Everett

White House talks up the economy

White House deputy chief of staff James Blair on Wednesday predicted US voters would start to feel better about their finances next year as the Trump administration gets out of the “hole” left by former President Joe Biden. “The fundamentals of the economy are good… what people are expressing is mostly about affordability,” Blair told Shelby Talcott at Semafor’s Architects of the New Economy event. Blair’s comments come as Trump and his party face signs of mounting voter discontent with the economy that have taken a toll on his approval rating. Trump appeared at a Pennsylvania rally on Tuesday night as part of what’s been billed as a travel swing addressing voter concerns, though he used the opportunity to jeer at affordability as a “hoax.”

Hawley skewers GOP for failing Trump

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., delivered a withering critique of his own party at Semafor’s Architects event, asserting that congressional Republicans are failing to help enact Trump’s agenda. “Congress really has to act,” Hawley told Burgess Everett. Hawley took issue with his party’s lack of action on rising health insurance premiums, and declined to rule out supporting Democrats’ plan to extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies during today’s vote. The Missouri Republican ticked off several areas where he thought the GOP should work with Democrats on policy, such as raising the minimum wage and capping prescription drug prices. Blair disagreed with Hawley’s assessment when asked about it during the event. “Congress is working pretty hard, given the circumstances,” he said, conceding that there are issues the GOP could be “more aggressive on.”

US seizes oil tanker near Venezuela

The Trump administration is ramping up its movements in the Caribbean, with the US military seizing an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela. Trump described the vessel as the “largest one ever seized” and hinted that “other things are happening,” after days earlier declining to rule out sending US troops into Venezuela and warning that leader Nicolás Maduro’s days “are numbered.” Attorney Gen. Pam Bondi said the Coast Guard “executed a seizure warrant” for the tanker, adding it was used to “transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.” Asked about the developments at Semafor’s Architects event, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., expressed alarm at the prospect of the US engaging in armed conflict in Venezuela, but he also faulted the Biden administration for not putting pressure on other Latin American countries to “push [Maduro] out” when he lost the election.

Dems warn over Paramount-WBD deal

Two Democratic lawmakers are warning their party may try to block or unravel any acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery by Paramount when it returns to power, Semafor’s Max Tani scooped. Reps. Sam Liccardo, D-Calif., and Ayanna Pressley, D-Mass., wrote to WBD’s board to air concerns about the national security risk of letting foreign entities control a large portion of the US entertainment and media industry. “Future Congresses… will review many of the decisions of the current Administration, and may recommend that regulators push for divestitures, which would undermine the strategic logic of this merger,” they wrote. The lawmakers’ worries stem from the Gulf investors backing Paramount’s hostile bid for WBD, which include sovereign wealth funds from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Abu Dhabi. Meanwhile, Trump suggested any deal should require changes to the current leadership of CNN, whose news coverage he has long criticized.

House to vote on private markets access

The House votes today on a package of more than 20 bills that would make it easier for startups to raise capital by allowing more investors to buy stakes in privately traded companies. Lawmakers passed many of the same proposals last Congress only for them to die amid pushback from Senate progressives concerned over consumer protections. But Financial Services Chair French Hill is optimistic about the proposals advancing this time, given support from rank-and-file Democrats and the fact that many already have companion measures in the Senate. “This is our capital formation step,” he said Wednesday. Hill also suggested “the package could be hotlined” or “attached to something else we’re doing on another priority,” like crypto or housing policy. That may not be so straightforward given Hill’s recent push to keep Senate housing legislation out of the annual defense bill.

— Eleanor Mueller

Crypto markup may be delayed

Key lawmakers are suggesting a bipartisan compromise to regulate the crypto industry may not be ready for a committee vote next week as some had hoped. Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., told Eleanor Mueller during Semafor’s Architects event on Wednesday that, while conversations between both parties are happening, “I hesitate to try to put a time marker on that at this point.” He said that a “lot of issues” are on the table for both parties to discuss as they try to solidify a deal on market structure. Meanwhile, Warner told Burgess Everett that Congress must deal “with the question of ethics,” referencing ethical constraints for Trump and other members of the administration — a key hangup with Republicans. “I think the president and the vice president need some ethical constraints,” Warner said. “If there’s an effort to try to bum-rush a partisan-only markup, it will be a mess.”

Fears for fate of Social Security, Medicare

Americans are growing more worried about the fates of Medicare and Social Security amid uncertainty over their future funding. According to polling from Gallup and West Health, roughly six in 10 adults — 58% for Medicare and 61% for Social Security — say they are more worried today than a year ago about potential changes to these benefits, including about a third of Republicans. About four in 10 US adults say Medicare and Social Security are each unlikely to be available in the next decade; Republicans are more confident than Democrats and independents. The polling follows a heated debate within the Republican Party about the programs. The megabill Trump signed earlier this year included billions in health care cuts, largely targeting Medicaid, as well as tax cuts for Social Security beneficiaries that could hasten the program’s insolvency.

Blindspot: Troops and planes

Stories that are being largely ignored by either left-leaning or right-leaning outlets, curated with help from our partners at Ground News.

What the Left isn’t reading: A panel of judges sided with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over the ban on transgender troops in the US military.

What the Right isn’t reading: The Trump administration signed a $140 million contract for half a dozen Boeing 737 planes to use for deportations, The Washington Post reported.

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: “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-Neb., said.

Axios: The Trump administration is planning to name a two-star US general to head up the International Stabilization Force overseeing security and rebuilding in Gaza.

Playbook: “Some Democrats are getting frustrated with the DSCC’s approach to Senate primaries, tagging it as variously too little involved in Texas or too heavily involved in Iowa.”

WaPo: America is in a “spiritual crisis,” said Sen. Raphael G. Warnock, D-Ga., the only serving member of the clergy in the Senate.

White House

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