An American flag sits on a thermostat at a Manhattan immigration court in New York. Photo by David “Dee” Delgado
It’s Tuesday, the traditional day for elections and for our pause-and-consider newsletter on politics and policy. We think of it as a mini-magazine in your inbox.
WHAT’S YOUR POLITICAL WORD OF THE YEAR?
By Lisa Desjardins, @LisaDNews
Correspondent
Friends,
We knew 2025 would be a high-wind gust of a year. And now, as we inch closer to 2026 and take stock of past months, 2025 was clearly much more.
But how to describe it? And what words rose to the top? It’s time to kick off our annual Political Word of the Year event, which relies on your votes and responses.
We will get things started by proposing four possible words of the year.
1. Dismantle. From the early dismantling of an entire agency — the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) — to repeated layoffs, overt attempts to push out federal workers to the demolition of the East Wing of the White House, the second Trump administration has made a focused push to dismantle structures across government.
2. Affordability. A word that has risen quickly in the past few weeks, Democrats and Republicans are both focused on the idea that Americans need to see life as more affordable — and that the economy is not in as rosy shape as the Trump administration may depict.
3. Shutdown. The government and nation endured the nation’s largest federal agency shutdown in history in October and through November. That had its own effects on policy and politics, but the word “shutdown” also could describe how many Americans feel about politics itself. Beyond “exhausted” (a past Political Word of the Year winner), “shutdown” seems apt.
4. Immigration. As a candidate in 2024, Trump’s list of promises began with tightening the border and launching mass deportations, focusing on those here illegally who had criminal offenses. All acknowledge that he cut the flow of undocumented immigrants at the border. But his mass deportation policy has ballooned to include detention of immigrants, young and old, who did not have criminal offenses, as well as the arrests or detainment of some American citizens. Some business leaders have pleaded for Trump to stop deportations because it is affecting their industries. The administration’s approach has raised a clear divide over how you define “immigrant,” as well as the value of immigrants in the country.
What words stand out to you? Help us — and 2025 — get this right.
Give it some thought. Vote for your favorite Political Word of the Year (or suggest your own) by filling out this form. We’ll announce the winner, and our favorite suggestions from readers, in an upcoming Here’s the Deal newsletter before the ball drops on another new year.
WHERE ARE WE WITH THE HEALTH CARE CREDITS?
Watch the video in the player above. Photo by Jim Vondruska/Reuters
Let’s rip the Band-Aid off on a major issue on Capitol Hill right now.
It’s all but certain that the Affordable Care Act subsidies will expire at the end of the month, leaving millions of Americans to face a painful spike in their health care premiums.
These ACA subsidies are set to lapse Dec. 31, but lawmakers are only expected to be in Congress for a few more days before they head home for the holidays. They won’t return until January.
With the clock ticking, let’s break down the problems at play in each chamber of Congress and why a health care deal hasn’t materialized. We’ll keep it breezy with a one-two punch of info.
In the House
Republican moderates have been trying to push for some kind of an extension, with some reforms attached, such as certain income caps on the subsidies.
But they need Democrats’ help to sign onto those petitions because Republican leaders are not pushing them forward. (House Speaker Mike Johnson batted down a last-ditch vote Tuesday for an ACA funding extension.)
And yet, Democrats want something else. They prefer a three-year extension of the subsidies, as they are now, without the reforms moderate Republicans are proposing.
In short, because of that gap, it’s hard to see a real extension of the subsidies happening on the House side.
In short, with President Donald Trump not really weighing in on the matter too, there’s little to no motivation for senators to do much more.
So, what could happen now?
Considering all the above, I think Congress will probably leave for the year and the subsidies will expire. Millions will see their premiums jump.
When Congress returns in January, there’ll likely be talk of trying to deal with this issue retroactively, but that will be a heavy and difficult lift.
One Big Question: Has anything changed since the stalemate began over extending expiring ACA subsidies? NPR’s Tamara Keith and Amy Walter of the Cook Political Report with Amy Walter discuss.
Tributes have been pouring in for the iconic actor and filmmaker Rob Reiner after he and his wife, Michele Reiner, were found dead in their Los Angeles home this weekend.
Authorities in California arrested one of their sons, Nick, who is now facing two counts of murder in the killing of his parents, prosecutors announced Tuesday. Following news of the couple’s deaths, President Donald Trump attacked Rob for his anti-Trump stance, suggesting that he and his wife were killed because of Rob's “Trump derangement syndrome.” The president’s comments drew immediate – and rare – backlash from within his own party.
The Reiners were known for blending politics with their artistic pursuits. Prominent Democrats, including former presidents, offeredtheircondolences. Rob was known for wielding his influence in California politics, embedding in efforts such as overturning bans on same-sex marriage and funding early childhood development programs.
Rob also once considered running a campaign for public office. He mulled running for California governor, potentially pitting him against another Hollywood icon. Ultimately, he decided against it.
Our question: Who would Rob Reiner have challenged for the governor’s seat if he moved forward with a 2006 gubernatorial campaign?
Send your answers to [email protected] or tweet using #PoliticsTrivia. The first correct answers will earn a shout-out next week.
Last week, we asked: Which president attempted to fire one of the commissioners of the Federal Trade Commission over ideological disagreements, which touched off a landmark legal battle over presidential removal power?
The answer: Franklin D. Roosevelt. William E. Humphrey, who was appointed to the FTC by President Herbert Hoover in the early 1930s, strongly disagreed with Roosevelt’s New Deal policies. When Roosevelt asked for Humphrey to resign, the commissioner refused to leave his post. The president then fired the conservative, touching off a key Supreme Court case, Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, that would become a landmark check on executive power.
Congratulations to our winners: W. Laurence Doxsey and Brandon Koltz!
Thank you all for reading and watching. We’ll drop into your inbox next week.
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