December 23rd, 2025

Let’s dive in.

1. EXCLUSIVE: Inside the Washington Reporter’s Christmas party with Americans for Tax Reform

2. SCOOP: The Trump administration’s 2025 success against illegal Chinese vapes, by the numbers

3. SCOOP: Homeland Chairman plans to partner with NCTC in 2026

4. SCOOP: Grover Norquist backs Rick Scott and August Pfluger’s health care legislation

5. OPINIONATED: Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks delivers her prescription for lower health care costs and Daniel Turner makes his 2026 predictions for American energy

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EXCLUSIVE: Inside the Washington Reporter’s Christmas party with Americans for Tax Reform

by the Washington Reporter

The Washington Reporter closed out 2025 teaming up once again with Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) at ATR’s first-ever party in its building’s new first-floor event space.

Over 200 people flocked to the joint Christmas party on one of the busiest holiday evenings of the year to close out banner years for both organizations.

Brian Colas, the Reporter’s CEO, told the Reporter that “the Washington Reporter was honored to partner with Americans for Tax Reform to celebrate a great 2025. ATR helped deliver the most consequential tax reform in a generation, and we were grateful to cover the legislation every step of the way,” Colas added. “We appreciate all our readers who joined us for the party and look forward to a great 2026.”

During the event itself, Norquist addressed the gathering, saying that he is particularly “appreciative of the tax cuts being made permanent.” Chris Butler, the executive director of ATR, also thanked the hundreds of attendees for coming to ATR’s inaugural event in its sprawling new office.

Matthew Foldi, the Reporter’s editor-in-chief, thanked ATR for being an “early believer” in the news outlet he co-founded alongside Colas and Garrett Ventry, harkening back to the 2024 Election Night party that the Reporter successfully cohosted alongside ATR when the outlet was a few months old. “Special thanks to Ben [Rajadurai],” Foldi added, thanking the indispensable ATR staffer who helped put the event together.

“I want to thank all of you guys for reading the Washington Reporter,” Foldi added to applause. “We were very proud to hear that this event sold out 250 tickets in just two days during this busy Christmas party season. That’s not necessarily an easy thing to do…it’s my honor to get to cover just part of what you all do.”

White House staffers joined Capitol Hill veterans and journalists for the festivities. Among those in attendance were Victoria Garrastacho, Hannah Eddins, Grace Newton, Cody Sanders, Greg Butcher, Karly Rajadurai, Mark Fraenkel, Ryan Young, Chris Thoms, Erika Bone, Brett O’Donnell, Miranda Dabney, Hannah Rawles, Shane Waller, Alex Salvi, Logan Luse, Charlie Roth, Matt McDonald, Phelim McAleer, Isabelle Morales, Jack Baum, Dennis Hull, Marisela Ramirez, Danny Gustafson, Will O’Grady, John Gizzi, Brianna D’Apuzzo, Vikram Prasad, James Erwin, Mike Palicz, Jack Heretik, and Drew Nirenberg.

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SCOOP: The Trump administration’s 2025 success against illegal Chinese vapes, by the numbers

by Matthew Foldi

As the Trump administration wraps up 2025, the U.S. has seen record low numbers of illegal border crossings. When it comes to border security, the administration has also acted to curb illicit vapes flowing into America from China.

Another element concerns the successful moves from across the administration — covered throughout the year by the Washington Reporter against illicit vapes flowing into America from China.

A Senate source told the Reporter that “the crackdown on illegal Chinese vapes has been a welcome policy contrast from the Biden Administration. It’s a tangible win towards making America safer and our Republican candidates can cite this in midterm ads.”

In one case, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seized almost $100 million in illegal e-cigarettes in the largest vape bust in American history; the agencies noted that “almost all” of the products seized originated in China.

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SCOOP: Homeland Chairman plans to partner with NCTC in 2026

by Matthew Foldi

Chairman of the House’s Homeland Security Committee Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R., N.Y.) is going to partner with the Trump administration to clean up the “Biden-Harris administration’s vetting failures and open-borders policies [that are having] long-lasting impacts on our homeland security,” especially as Islamic terrorism is on the rise, he told the Washington Reporter.

Garbarino recently had Joe Kent — the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) — testify before his committee, where Kent discussed the threats facing Americans at home and abroad.

“Twenty-four years after 9/11, what we heard from Director Kent in our annual Worldwide Threats hearing should disturb every American,” the New York lawmaker said. “Although the Trump administration has achieved historic milestones in securing the border and identifying potential national security threats on U.S. soil, the terror threat landscape globally and in the homeland continues to shift, especially in the wake of the Biden administration’s botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, a historic border crisis, the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, and rapid technological advancements.”

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SCOOP: Grover Norquist backs Rick Scott and August Pfluger’s health care legislation

by Matthew Foldi

Rep. August Pfluger (R., Texas) and Sen. Rick Scott (R., Fla.) co-released a healthcare plan recently that they hope will reform how Americans interact with the health care system, which the duo discussed in the first appearance of a senator on the Republican Study Committee’s (RSC) Right to the Point podcast.

During the episode, obtained by the Washington Reporter, Pfluger asked the questions; normally, his fellow RSC members take turns around the horn.

The duo discussed what Pfluger called their “incredible” and bicameral health care bill, which they call the MACA bill — the More Affordable Care Act. Some of its central tenets, Pfluger explained, include reducing Americans’ dependency on the government; he went so far as to call his bill a “perfect fit for our country right now.”

The conservative duo’s prescription for what America’s health care system needs won quick plaudits from the broader conservative movement, including from figures like Grover Norquist, the President of Americans for Tax Reform (ATR).

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Learn more at netchoice.org/keepappstoressafe

OPINIONATED

Op-Ed: Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks: American families deserve lower healthcare costs. Here’s how we get there.

by Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks

I’m Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, and I’ve spent my life in service to others. I served for 24 years as a nurse and physician in the U.S. Army, and I’m the only current member of Congress who has also served as a state public health director. I’ve seen the challenges patients face from the bedside to the highest levels of public service, and I’ve made it my mission to fix a system that has failed far too many for far too long.

After nearly 15 years of broken promises under the so-called Affordable Care Act, families have been left with higher premiums, fewer choices, and prescription costs that are simply out of control. For too long, big insurance companies have profited while working families have paid the price.

Recently, the House took a major step forward. My bill, the Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act, passed with strong support, delivering real solutions to finally put patients and their doctors back in control.

The numbers speak for themselves. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, our bill will lower premiums by 11 percent across the board, with even greater savings of up to 30 percent for small businesses that join together through Association Health Plans. It will reduce the deficit by $36 billion, without raising taxes or expanding bureaucracy.

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Op-Ed: Daniel Turner: My 2026 predictions for American energy policy

by Daniel Turner

Predictions are risky in this business. Get it right, and you look like a genius. Get it wrong, and your reputation is tarnished by the Monday morning quarterbacks. So, allow me to make some energy predictions, and who knows — maybe I will come back at this time next year to either eat humble pie or spike the football. Time will tell.

Prediction one: Blue state troubles

Even the Washington Post Editorial Board finally admitted that blue states are learning what markets, science, and 30 years of European trial have made abundantly clear: going green is very expensive and does not work. “It’s no coincidence that most of the states with the highest [electricity] prices also have the most ambitious decarbonization mandates” it wrote. Yes, indeed.

To that end, blue states are in deep trouble. Gov. Maura Healey (D., Mass.) is seeking reelection in Massachusetts as a champion of natural gas pipelines, yet four years ago she ran on stopping natural gas pipelines. Her GOP challenger has highlighted her gaslighting of the gas line.

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