The Latest: 4 Republicans join Democrats on extending ACA subsidies, defying Speaker Johnson

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Four centrist Republicans broke with Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday and signed onto a Democratic-led petition that will force a House vote on extending for three years an enhanced pandemic-era subsidy that lowers health insurance costs for millions of Americans.

House Republican leaders have instead pushed a GOP health care bill that does not address the soaring monthly premiums people will soon endure as the tax credits for those who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act expire.

Trump says he will address the nation on Wednesday night: Trump announced his plans in a post on his social media site, saying he will speak live from the White House at 9 p.m. EST. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that the president will discuss what he accomplished this year, the first of his second term, and his plans for the next three years.

And the West Wing went into damage control after Trump’s understated but influential chief of staff, Susie Wiles, criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case and offered an unvarnished take on her boss and others in his orbit in interviews published Tuesday in Vanity Fair

Here’s the latest:

Trump and military officials offered a final salute to the fallen guardsmen and interpreter as the solemn ritual ended.

The president, who traveled to Dover several times in his first term, once described the dignified transfer as “the toughest thing I have to do” as president.

Trump, with head bowed, briefly stood with other military officials at the foot of the ramp of the C-17 as the ritual began.

The president and other military officials saluted as the flag-draped cases holding the two Iowa guardsmen, Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar and Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, as well as interpreter, Ayad Mansoor Sakat, were transferred from the belly of the aircraft to awaiting vehicles on the Dover tarmac.

There’s been no change Wednesday to the list of foreign terrorist organizations after President Donald Trump said the “Venezuelan Regime” has been designated as one.

Trump said that when announcing a blockade on “sanctioned oil tankers” into and out of Venezuela.

Officials at several national security agencies were told not to take Trump’s remarks about the designation literally and that they should be treated as a figure of speech, according to one U.S. official involved in the discussions.

That official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to describe internal interagency communications, also stressed that the “blockade” Trump announced on Venezuelan oil tankers applies only to previously sanctioned vessels against which certain actions are already authorized, such as the seizure last week of one such ship.

The State Department, which oversees the foreign terror list, didn’t respond to requests for clarification. The list most recently was updated with Colombia-based drug cartel Clan del Golfo.

A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found that Republicans are much more divided on U.S. military action inside Venezuela than U.S. military attacks to kill suspected drug smugglers on boats in international waters.

About half of Republican voters support U.S. military action inside Venezuela, while about 8 in 10 support military attacks on suspected drug smugglers in international waters.

Democrats and independents are broadly opposed to U.S. military action in both international waters and inside Venezuela, but there aren’t major partisan differences in how closely voters are following the news related to Venezuela.

The president met privately with the families after arriving at Dover Air Force Base, according to the White House.

U.S. military action targeting Venezuela isn’t broadly popular, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday.

The survey found that about half of registered voters oppose U.S. military attacks to kill suspected drug smugglers on boats in international waters, while about 4 in 10 are in support.

Military action inside Venezuela is even more unpopular, with about 6 in 10 voters opposed and only about one-quarter in support.

About 4 in 10 voters are following news about the U.S. military buildup and actions in the Caribbean and Pacific targeting Venezuela “very” closely. About one-third are following it “somewhat” closely and about one-quarter are following “not too” closely.

Kevin McCarthy, who served as speaker for nearly 10 months in 2023, flew aboard Air Force One with Trump to Dover Air Force Base.

Trump and McCarthy, a Republican from California, were on the books to meet on Wednesday at the White House before the dignified transfer was scheduled to discuss the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, according to a White House official.

Rather than cancel, Trump invited McCarthy to come along and conduct their meeting on the plane, according to the official who was not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Casey Wasserman, who is heading the organizing committee for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, also joined Trump for the trip to Dover

“The plaques are eloquently written descriptions of each President and the legacy they left behind. As a student of history, many were written directly by the President himself,” said White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt in a statement.

The plaques frequently use phrases, punctuation and the capitalization of words similar to the president’s writing style in his social media posts.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly predicted Wednesday that Republican lawmakers in Kansas won’t be able to enact a new U.S. House map following the failure of a GOP redistricting push in Indiana.

Top Republicans in the GOP-controlled Kansas Legislature want to oust the lone Democrat in the state’s congressional delegation, Kansas City-area Rep. Sharice Davids. But they’ll need two-thirds majorities in both chambers to overcome Kelly’s expected veto, and they haven’t mustered that margin in the House.Kelly said in an Associated Press interview Wednesday that recent Democratic victories in off-year elections also will bolster GOP dissention in Kansas.

“I’m sure that legislators here in Kansas heard and saw what happened in Indiana, and it just reinforced for a lot of them that this is a really bad idea,” she said.

Kansas legislators open their 2026 session on Jan. 12.

Trump exited Air Force One accompanied by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

He did not speak with reporters who traveled with him before he got into the limousine and the motorcade rolled away.

Smith has been testifying for more than three hours behind closed doors at the House Judiciary Committee, and he’s being asked and answering questions about his investigations into Trump, particularly over election interference in the run-up to the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol.

Smith wanted to appear publicly and Democrats say there’s a reason Republicans are keeping his deposition private.

“It would have been absolutely devastating to the president and all the president’s men involved in the insurrectionary activities of January the 6th,” said Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the panel.

Democrats are demanding that Smith’s testimony be made public, along with his full report on the investigation.

“The American people should hear for themselves,” said Rep. Dan Goldman, D-NY.

A couple months ago, Trump refashioned the colonnade that runs from the West Wing to the residence into what he calls the “ Presidential Walk of Fame.”

Now, there are new plaques underneath each portrait describing each leader in rather Trumpian terms.

Former President Barack Obama is labeled “one of the most divisive political figures in American history.”

Former President Joe Biden’s plaque repeats false claims that Biden took office “as a result of the most corrupt election ever.”

And the plaque below former President George W. Bush’s portrait decries that Bush “started wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, both of which should not have happened.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about how and why the new plaques were developed.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ focus is on avoiding any escalation of situation, U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq said Wednesday when asked about the legality of President Donald Trump’s order of a blocade of all “sanctioned oil tankers” into Venezuela.

“We are looking at what the applicable laws are … but certainly the parties have to abide by the U,N. Charter,” Haq told U.N. reporters. The Charter requires all 193 U.N. member nations – including the an d United States and Venezuela – to refrain from the use of force against all other nations and settle all disputes peacefully.

“We want any escalatory steps to be avoided,” Haq said. “At this stage, it’s critical to continue diplomatic engagement and pursue a peaceful way forward through dialogue.”

He said Guterres is following the situation very closely and engaging “with relevant parties.”

Adm. Frank “Mitch” Bradley gave a classified briefing and showed video of a Sept. 2 strike that killed two survivors of an initial attack on an alleged drug boat to the House and Senate Armed Services Committees.

Several Republican senators emerged from the meeting backing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his decision not to release the video publicly, but other GOP lawmakers stayed silent on their opinion of the strike.

Democrats are calling for part of the video to be released publicly and for every member of Congress to have access to the full footage.

The United State and Qatar held annual strategic dialogue talks as President Donald Trump continues to press for the full implementation of his peace plan to end the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani led Wednesday’s discussions at the State Department, which came as Qatar is playing an increasingly important role in organizing Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” for the territory and an international force to provide security there.

The two men “reaffirmed the strategic partnership between the United States and Qatar, and discussed opportunities to deepen cooperation on shared economic and security goals,” the State Department said in a statement after the meeting.

Rubio “expressed appreciation for Qatar’s role in supporting American objectives in the Middle East, Africa, and the Western Hemisphere, and reiterated both countries’ desire for close collaboration on shared goals,” it said.

In late September, Trump signed an executive order committing the U.S. to broad security guarantees for Qatar’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. That took place after Israel launched military strikes against Hamas operatives in Doha, outraging the Qataris and other Arab nations.

Senate Democrats told FCC leader Brendan Carr that his testimony Wednesday that the agency wasn’t independent conflicted with the agency’s own website, which described it as an “independent U.S. government agency overseen by Congress.”

Soon after, the FCC’s website changed, removing “independent” from a section describing its mission.

The Senate gave final passage to an annual military policy bill Wednesday that will authorize $901 billion in defense programs while pressuring Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to provide lawmakers with video of strikes on alleged drug boats in international water near Venezuela.

The annual National Defense Authorization Act, which raises troop pay by 3.8%, gained bipartisan backing as it moved through Congress, and the White House has indicated that it is in line with President Donald Trump’s national security priorities. However, the legislation, which ran over 3,000 pages, revealed some points of friction between Congress and the Pentagon as the Trump administration reorients its focus away from security in Europe and towards Central and South America.

The bill pushes back on recent moves by the Pentagon. It demands more information on boat strikes in the Caribbean, requires that the U.S. keep its troop levels in Europe at current levels and sends some military aid to Ukraine.

But overall, the bill represents a compromise between the parties.

—Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, Pennsylvania. Fitzpatrick, who has been part of several bipartisan pushes this year, amassed bipartisan signatures for his own discharge petition related to ACA subsidy extension.

—Rep. Robert Bresnahan, Pennsylvania. Bresnahan and Mackenzie won in November by some of the smallest margins in all of Congress.

—Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, Pennsylvania. Mackenzie drew a Democratic opponent barely 48 hours after voting for the House budget bill earlier this year.

—Rep. Mike Lawler, New York. Lawler’s district has been considered a crucial swing seat in recent elections, and Democrats are expected to again dedicate heavy resources to flip it next year.

Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Yvan Gil demanded in a letter to the council obtained by The Associated Press Wednesday that the U.S. immediately release the “kidnapped crew” and return the oil illegally confiscated on the high seas.

U.S. forces last week seized an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast, an unusual move that followed a buildup of military forces in the region

In addition to urging the Security Council to condemn the taking of the tanker, Gil urged the U.N.’s most powerful body for a written council statement stating that the council hasn’t authorized actions against Venezuela, “or against the international commercialization of its oil.”

The three-judge panel for U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled that Trump may prevail in his argument that in D.C., a federal district, the president “possesses a unique power” to mobilize the Guard.

The ruling stays a lower court decision that had ordered an end to the deployment.

Wednesday’s ruling is not final, but it acknowledged that the Trump administration has a strong case for its appeal.

Senate Democrats grilled FCC Chairman Brendan Carr during an oversight hearing, suggesting he was politicizing an independent agency.

But Carr, and another Republican commissioner, said the agency is not, in fact, independent.

“The FCC is not an independent agency, formally speaking,” Carr said.

Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Luján pointed to the FCC’s own website, which says that it is an “independent U.S. government agency overseen by Congress.”

The United State and Qatar have held annual strategic dialogue talks as President Donald Trump continues to press for the full implementation of his peace plan to end the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani led Wednesday’s discussions at the State Department, which came as Qatar is playing an increasingly important role in organizing Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” for the territory and an international force to provide security there.

Neither man spoke to reporters as they posed for photos ahead of the talks that took place just a day after Doha hosted a meeting of potential contributors to the force.

In late September, Trump signed an executive order committing the U.S. to broad security guarantees for Qatar’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. That took place after Israel launched military strikes against Hamas operatives in Doha, outraging the Qataris and other Arab nations.

Ayad Mansoor Sakat, a U.S. civilian working as an interpreter who was killed alongside two Iowa National Guard members in an attack in Syria Saturday, was a seasoned professional.

His 25-year-old daughter, Dina Qiryaqoz, was in Delaware Wednesday to attend his dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base, where Trump will witness the return of their remains.

Qiryaqoz said in a statement Wednesday that Sakat was from a small Catholic village outside Mosul and worked as an interpreter for the U.S. Army during the invasion of Iraq from 2003 to 2007. The family immigrated to the U.S. in 2007 on a special visa and settled in Macomb, Michigan. He is survived by his wife and four adult children.

“He was a devoted father and husband, a courageous interpreter and a man who believed deeply in the mission he served,” she said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson was asked if he’s lost control of the House after four Republicans signed on to a Democratic-led petition to force a vote on extending health care subsidies that expire at the end of this year.

“I have not lost control of the House,” Johnson insisted.

He noted that Republicans have a razor-thin majority that allows a small number of members to employ procedures that would not normally be successful in getting around leadership.

“These are not normal times,” he remarked.

Secretary Scott Bessent has announced a 50-state initiative to recruit more philanthropists to further seed a Trump administration initiative to provide tax-advantaged savings accounts for children.

Philanthropists Ray and Barbara Dalio of Connecticut will be the first to join the initiative aimed at bolstering what the White House has dubbed the “ Trump Accounts ” program, which aims to deposit $1,000 into investment accounts for American children born between Jan. 1, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2028.

Dalio Philanthropies announced it will seed an additional $250 per child for approximately 300,000 children in Connecticut. Ray Dalio is the founder of the investment firm Bridgewater Associates.

Earlier this month, billionaires Michael and Susan Dell pledged $6.25 billion for 25 million American children 10 and under as an incentive to claim the investment accounts created as part of Trump’s tax and spending legislation.

The Minnesota Democrat accused Carr on Wednesday of using his “position to threaten companies.”

Klobuchar highlighted comments Carr made earlier this year, when he said Jimmy Kimmel had made “truly sick” comments about Charlie Kirk’s death and warned broadcasters, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.”

Among the first Democrats to question Carr at the oversight hearing, Klobuchar took an aggressive line of questioning.

“I made my decisions in the investigation without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 election,” Smith said. “We took actions based on what the facts and the law required — the very lesson I learned early in my career as a prosecutor.”

He said that if asked whether he would “prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether the president was a Republican or Democrat.”

The former Justice Department special counsel told lawmakers in a closed-door interview on Wednesday that the evidence his investigators gathered proved Trump had criminally conspired to overturn the results of the 2020 election, according to portions of his opening statement obtained by The Associated Press.

He also said investigators had “powerful evidence” Trump broke the law by hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after his first term, and by obstructing government efforts to recover the records.

“I made my decisions in the investigation without regard to President Trump’s political association, activities, beliefs, or candidacy in the 2024 election,” Smith said. “We took actions based on what the facts and the law required — the very lesson I learned early in my career as a prosecutor.”

He said that if asked whether he would “prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether the president was a Republican or Democrat.”