HEALTHSCARE

The GOP has been complaining about Obamacare for more than a decade. Today proved what was always assumed: They still have no plan.

• Wile E. Coyote famously fails to notice that he’s over the ledge of the cliff until he looks down — and sees he’s running on nothin’. That image neatly sums the entire story of Republican health care policy, ever since Obamacare became law in 2010. They rage, they grumble, they promise, they scramble, they claim to have “concepts of a plan.” And now, after 15 years of running on air, the GOP is having a big look-down moment. And there’s nothing below their feet.

• Senators voted down two health care proposals today that would’ve extended Obamacare subsidies, which officially expire on January 1. Premiums for millions of people will skyrocket if lawmakers can’t agree on a plan. And Republicans finally seem to be realizing that A) They have no plan, and B) This is bad.

• “The cliff is coming … and we have members who are very concerned about that. I think we all are,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) said. Retiring Sen. Thom Tillis (R-SC) offered a sober explanation for why his colleagues failed: “It’s too complicated and too difficult to get done in the limited time that we have left.” Brother, you guys had the entire year! Hell, you’ve had over a decade to come up with anything.

• Reality check: Conservatives control the White House, the Senate, the House, and even the Supreme Court. This is the best chance they’ve had in years to pass the health care agenda they want — if only they knew what they wanted. Trump has repeatedly promised to reveal a “full and complete” health care plan, which would be “better” than Obamacare, “phenomenal,” and “something terrific,” within a few weeks, since about 2015. He never did. And that leaves GOP lawmakers flailing.

• “The challenge Republicans have always had is trying to unify behind a single proposal,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) told reporters. “We’ve just got too many good ideas.” Yup, that’s the problem!

House Republicans are feeling the pressure, and some are breaking with GOP leadership on this issue.

• Much of the blame for the latest stage of this debacle can be pinned on House Speaker Mike Johnson (shocking, I know). Last month, Trump’s team was drafting a plan to extend subsidies for two years. But Johnson warned that House Republicans wouldn’t support it, siding with staunch conservatives who don’t want to see subsidies renewed.

• Enter the moderates. More than a dozen House Republicans have now signed onto a bipartisan bill that would extend subsidies for one year. If enough sign onto a discharge petition — a niche way to railroad GOP leaders who oppose the bill — lawmakers would be forced to vote on it. You may remember how a similar showdown went last month, with the vote to release the Epstein files: Once the Epstein legislation gained enough support, Republicans jumped on board (including Trump himself). Sometimes, in politics, the impossible can suddenly become unstoppable, when the stars align.

• This fight is coming at a terrible time for Trump, who has been trying to convince Americans that he’s making life more affordable. Only 31 percent of Americans approve of Donald Trump’s handling of the economy, according to a new poll. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell also announced that the U.S. may be losing 20,000 jobs per month. Skyrocketing health care prices will only add to economic anxieties.

Trump is resorting to his favorite tactic: Blame former President Joe Biden: “I inherited a MESS from the Biden Administration,” he wrote on Truth Social. “When will people understand what is happening? When will Polls reflect the Greatness of America?”

WHAT ELSE? 👀

Democratic lawmakers grilled DHS Secretary Kristi Noem during a hearing today. After she claimed that DHS hasn’t deported any veterans, an aide to Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI) held up an iPad showing a live video call: “We are joined on Zoom by a gentleman named Sae Joon Park. He is a United States Army combat veteran who was shot twice while serving our country... You deported him to Korea.” Hard to argue with that!

Republican lawmakers are finally starting to speak out against Trump’s nonsensical pardons, which have included a drug-trafficking ex-president, and a congressman accused of accepting foreign bribes. “I wouldn’t have pardoned those people,” Rep. James Comer (R-KY), who chairs the Oversight Committee, told NOTUS, speaking about several of Trump’s recent pardons.

More details are leaking about the Caribbean boat strike embattling Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The two survivors of the first strike were struggling to stay atop a piece of wreckage roughly the size of a dining room table, according to the Washington Post. The commander in charge “ordered a second strike, killing both men,” the outlet writes. “Moments earlier, the video feed had shown them waving their arms and looking skyward, people who saw the footage said. It was unclear, they added, why they were doing so.”

Barron Trump turns out to be a big fan of the notoriously gross misogynist, Andrew Tate — and even got dating advice from one of Tate’s close pals. Those are just some of the mind-boggling revelations in a New York Times exposé on how the Trump administration helped secure the release of Tate and his brother, two manosphere stars and accused human traffickers. (Both Tate brothers have denied the charges.)

Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) introduced a bill to Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C. to “Charlie Kirk Freedom of Speech Plaza.” It’s unclear whether the House will consider the bill, and it would struggle to earn the necessary Democratic support in the Senate. I wonder if this is a publicity stunt to shift attention away from her verbal assault on police officers and TSA agents, whom she called “fucking idiots” and “fucking incompetent”?

Time Magazine named “the Architects of AI” Person of the Year. “Every industry needs it, every company uses it, and every nation needs to build it,” Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang told the outlet. This “person of the year” award never stops making choices designed to make everyone feel weird. Shoutout to the year Time decided to pick “you,” and leave it at that.

And in other news from our artificially enhanced dystopia: Disney signed a $1 billion deal to allow users of OpenAI’s Sora to make videos with its characters. AI-enabled children’s toys are reportedly reciting Chinese Communist Party talking points. And OpenAI is being sued for a wrongful death, in which a woman was killed by her son who had delusions while talking with ChatGPT. (An OpenAI spokesperson told the Wall Street Journal that the company will review the filings.)

LIGHT AT THE END ☀️

Indiana lawmakers refused to redraw their state’s congressional voting map, in a big rebuke to Trump, who has leaned hard on them to help the GOP hold the House in the midterms.

A federal judge ordered the immediate release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland father sent to a Salvadoran megaprison by the Trump administration. “He has been re-detained, again without lawful authority,” the judge said. Trump’s team also cannot deport the man to another country, as they were planning to, the judge added.

A federal grand jury refused to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James on dubious mortgage fraud claims for a third time.

“South Park” wrapped up its Trump-bashing season last night in spectacular fashion. I won’t even attempt to summarize this truly deranged episode, but here’s an excerpt from the review in Vice: “After Satan goes into labor, Jesus gets [Peter] Thiel out of jail and heads to the hospital to help carry out Trump’s plan. Once they arrive, Stan manages to talk a little sense into Jesus just as the doctor comes out with some bad news: The fetus hung itself in the womb Jeffrey Epstein-style, complete with a few minutes of footage missing from the ultrasound.” The Pod Save America crew just posted their live reactions to the episode, it’s totally worth the watch.

An environmental conservation group is suing to keep a picture of Donald Trump’s face out of the 2026 national parks pass, citing “aesthetic harm.” Federal law also requires the pass to include a nature photography contest’s winning photo, the group argues. “The national parks are not a personal branding opportunity,” the group’s executive director said in a statement. “America the Beautiful means wild rivers and majestic mountains, not a headshot of a bloated, fragile, attention-seeking ego. There’s nothing beautiful about that.”

The FDA proposed making a key ingredient found in many Asian and European sunscreens available for American sunscreen. The ingredient, bemotrizinol, is very effective at blocking UV rays — and preventing wrinkles. This will be very popular among skincare enthusiasts: “Korean sunscreen is all the rage. If you’re American, you might be out of luck,” reads a Vox headline from last year.

The FDA also cleared an in-home head set that sends mild electrical currents to users’ brains to treat depression. The FDA found some “modest” benefits for users, and mental health experts are supportive of the decision. “This opens up a new era of treatment for depression,” Daniel Blumberger, a scientist at Canada’s largest mental-health teaching hospital, told the Washington Post.

A 22-year-old medical student discovered that she had a ping pong ball-sized kidney stone after volunteering to have an ultrasound for a classroom lesson. As a result, doctors were able to save half of her kidney. “Now I can tell you anything about a kidney,” the student laughed.

Superfans of “Forensic Files,” the true crime television series, are listening to the show to fall asleep because they find the host’s ominous, deep voice oddly comforting. “Less than 30 minutes later, and I’m out like a light,” one long-time listener told the Wall Street Journal.