President Trump hosted a lengthy Cabinet meeting today at which he made news — and not just for appearing to dozeoff at times shortly after criticizing a recent New York Times report that questioned his stamina. “Trump is sharp,” he insisted early in the meeting. Here are five takeaways:
Trump calls focus on affordability “a fake narrative”: The president touted the state of the economy and bashed the recent focus on affordability, calling it “a Democrat scam” and “a fake narrative that the Democrats talk about.”
Trump insisted he has largely halted inflation, which rose to 3% in September, the latest government reading, and said that he’s reduced some drug prices by an impossible 500% to 900%. But he bristled at the focus on prices. “The word affordability is a con job by the Democrats,” he said.
Democrats have indeed been talking about it, increasingly so after the issue helped them win key elections last month. But some of Trump’s Cabinet secretaries seemed to see the issue as a real concern, too. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, for example, said it has been a great year for the economy and added that the Republican domestic policy bill signed by Trump in July will help deal with what he labeled a crisis. “The best way to address the affordability crisis is to give Americans more money in their pockets, which is what this bill has done,” he said.
Trump offers little clarity on healthcare: The president again criticized the Affordable Care Act and said that his party is “united” in healthcare negotiations with Democrats. But hopes are fading for any bipartisan deal to extend the enhanced ACA subsidies set to expire at the end of the month. “Conversations continue,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters on Tuesday. “I don’t think, at this point, we have a clear path forward. I don’t think Democrats have a clear path forward.”
Republicans have yet to coalesce around a healthcare plan. A tentative proposal from the White House that paired a two-year extension of the expiring subsidies with new eligibility limits was quickly pulled in the face of opposition from GOP lawmakers. Trump on Tuesday reiterated his preference to send ACA funds directly to individuals, and GOP lawmakers are working on proposals along those lines.
But some lawmakers reportedly acknowledge that, unless Trump gets more engaged and approves some plan to extend the subsidies, the Senate vote next week on a Democratic bill is doomed to fail, as is a possible parallel vote on a GOP alternative. The result would be that millions of Americans are hit with massive increases in premium payments.
Trump again promises tariff refund checks: Trump said that next year is projected to be the largest ever for tax refunds and again promised that he’ll be issuing refunds out of the tariff revenue being collected. “We’re going to be giving back refunds out of the tariffs,” Trump said, “because we’ve taken in literally trillions of dollars and we’re going to be giving a nice dividend to the people in addition to reducing debt.”
The math there simply doesn’t work. Trump’s claim wildly overstates the amount of tariff revenue coming into the government, estimated by the Bipartisan Policy Center to total about $259 billion so far in 2025. The Tax Foundation recently estimated that sending $2,000 tariff refunds could cost anywhere from $280 billion to $607 billion, depending on how the payments are designed. That means the refunds could add to the deficit rather than reducing it — a key reason that lawmakers on Capitol Hill are reportedly very skeptical of the idea.
That hasn’t stopped Trump from touting it — and making even bigger promises. “As time goes by, over the next two, three, four years, those numbers are going to go up and I believe that at some point in the not-too-distant future, you won’t even have income tax to pay because the money we’re taking in is so great.”
A new Fed chair: Trump again lashed out at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, calling him “incompetent” and “a real dope” while also reiterating his push for lower interest rates. The president said that he’ll likely be announcing his choice to succeed Powell before long. “We’ll be announcing somebody, probably early next year, for the new chairman of the Fed,” he said.
Trump joked that he spoke to Bessent about taking the job but said that the Treasury secretary prefers to stay where he is. The president indicated that the search for Powell’s successor has concluded. “We have it down to one,” Trump said, without naming his pick.
White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett is widely seen as Trump’s likely choice.
Hegseth says he didn’t see second strike on boat: Lawmakers in both the House and Senate have launched inquiries into the administration’s strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean, with a particular focus on a so-called “double tap” strike in September that experts have said meets the criteria for a war crime.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting that he watched the first strike that September attack and did not see any survivors before leaving to attend other meetings. He said he later learned about the second strike on the same boat, which was ordered to kill survivors of the first hit. Hegseth defended the strike and Admiral Frank “Mitch” Bradley, who the administration says ordered it. “Admiral Bradley made the correct decision to ultimately sink the boat and eliminate the threat,” Hegseth said. “We have his back.”
Trump had Hegseth’s back. “Pete’s doing a great job,” he said.