House Republicans Take a Stab at a Healthcare Plan

It's Friday! Congress has one work week left in 2025, and House Republican leaders are hoping to make the most of it. Here's what you should know as we head into the weekend.

House Republicans Take a Stab at a Healthcare Plan

After the Senate failed to advance a pair of dueling healthcare plans yesterday, House Republican leaders on Friday rushed to release a healthcare package of their own ahead of a planned floor vote in their chamber next week - and they reportedly will allow GOP moderates an amendment vote to extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies set to expire at the end of the month.

The core House Republican plan, titled the "Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act," does not include an extension of those subsidies but instead seeks to lower costs in other ways. Those include an expansion of association health plans, which let employers unite to buy coverage, and "cost-sharing reduction" payments to help low-income enrollees afford Obamacare plans. The package reportedly also requires more transparency from pharmacy benefit managers and a provision meant to expand small business access to self-insured plans.

The House GOP plan does not include a Senate Republican proposal to redirect funding for the enhanced ACA subsidies into prefunded health savings accounts with $1,000 or $1,500. And it does not address the expiring Obamacare tax credits. The House Republican conference is deeply divided over those subsidies, with conservatives vehemently opposed to any measure in support of a health law they have long despised and moderates eager to prevent millions of Americans from seeing their premium payments spike - and to avoid the political pain that might bring for the GOP.

The path ahead remains highly uncertain. While moderate Republicans and Democrats support extending the subsidies, an amendment vote may not pass, as Democrats are still angling for a clean extension without the reforms Republicans are seeking. Democrats may prefer to pursue an extension of the subsidies via either of two discharge petitions that would force votes on bills that don't include the GOP leadership's provisions - or they may choose to use the issue as a cudgel against Republicans over the coming year. As of Thursday, Democratic leaders reportedly were still deciding whether to support either discharge petition push.

"Republicans leaders ultimately expect the extension vote to fail, resulting in skyrocketing premiums for millions of Americans when the subsidies expire at the end of the year," Politico notes.

If an amendment to extend the subsidies does get adopted, it may threaten the chances for the broader GOP package to pass. Any plan that gets through the House would also have to clear the Senate, where a 60-vote threshold means Democratic support would be needed.

The bottom line: House Republicans are giving themselves the chance to say they tried to do something to address healthcare costs, but the ACA subsidies still appear likely to expire within days. As we said above, Congress has just one work week left in 2025.

Trump Names Top Two Candidates to Lead the Fed

President Trump said Friday he has two leading candidates to lead the Federal Reserve when current Chair Jerome Powell's term ends in May: former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett.

Trump said last month he had already picked his candidate, with Hassett seen as the favorite, but Warsh's name has returned to the mix in recent days, indicating that the decision is still up in the air.

"I think you have Kevin and Kevin," Trump told The Wall Street Journal. "They're both-I think the two Kevins are great."

Whoever takes the post will be under pressure to cut the Fed's benchmark interest rate quickly, something Trump has been pushing for all year. Trump said he thinks the Fed chief should consult him before making any decisions, a significant change from the current mode of operation, which seeks to insulate the central bank from political influence.

"Typically, that's not done anymore. It used to be done routinely. It should be done," Trump said. "It doesn't mean - I don't think he should do exactly what we say. But certainly we're - I'm a smart voice and should be listened to."

Asked how low he would like to see interest rates go, Trump made it clear he wants the new Fed chief to be aggressive. Rates should be "1% and maybe lower than that," Trump said. "We should have the lowest rate in the world."

This week, the Fed lowered its benchmark rate to a range between 3.5% and 3.75%, and the current slate of central bank officials expects to execute just one more quarter-point rate cut over the next year.

Number of the Day: $1.1 Trillion

The cost of a Golden Dome system that protects the United States from an all-out aerial attack is projected to be around $1.1 trillion, according to a new analysis by Bloomberg. That's more than 500% higher than the Trump administration's estimate of $175 billion. Bloomberg also estimates that a more limited Golden Dome "designed to protect against an all-out attack from just one adversary, Russia," would cost $844.4 billion. Check out the detailed graphic and breakdown at Bloomberg.

Fiscal News Roundup

• House GOP Details Health Plan for Vote Next Week – Axios
• House GOP Unveils Health Care Bill Without Obamacare Subsidies Extension – The Hill
• House GOP Leaders Race to Release Health Care Package Friday – Politico - Politico
• Trump Signals Willingness to Work With Democrats on Health Care – The Hill
• Republican Lawmakers Tell Trump Something He's Not Used to Hearing: No – Washington Post
• Trump Says He Is Leaning Toward Warsh or Hassett to Lead the Fed – Wall Street Journal
• Warren: Hassett 'Biggest Concern' Among Fed Chair Contenders – The Hill
• House Republicans Throw Federal Labor Unions a Lifeline in a Rare Rebuke of Trump – CNN
• House Overturns Trump Executive Order in Historic Vote – Axios
• This Holiday Season Isn't Very Merry for Consumers, an AP-NORC Poll Finds – Associated Press
• Fed Officials Split Over Risks to US Economy Going Into 2026 – Bloomberg
• Fed Board Votes Unanimously to Reappoint Reserve Bank Presidents – Wall Street Journal
• FEMA to Send Georgia More Than $300 Million in Hurricane Helene Relief After Accusations of Delays – Associated Press
• States to Sue Over Trump's $100,000 H-1B Application Fee – Bloomberg
• FDA Intends to Put Its Most Serious Warning on Covid Vaccines, Sources Say – CNN
• Trump Sued by Preservationists Seeking Reviews and Congressional Approval for Ballroom Project – Associated Press

Views and Analysis

• 24 Hours That Showed the Limits of Trump's Power – Aaron Blake, CNN
• Trump's Approval Ratings Are Low Again. This Time It Might Matter – Kristen Soltis Anderson, New York Times
• Obamacare Intensifies Trump Slump – Chris Stirewalt, The Hill
• Why a Budding Drug-Price Revolution Isn't Quite What It Seems – David Wainer, Wall Street Journal
• Sorry, but You Had to Be an Idiot to Believe Trump Could Lower Prices – Michael Tomasky, New Republic
• Trump May Be Losing His Touch – Peggy Noonan, Wall Street Journal
• The Republicans' Endangered Health – Robert Kuttner, American Prospect
• Fed Independence Just Got a Bit More Secure – Jonathan Levin, Bloomberg
• Golden Dome: The Astronomical Cost of Defeating 'Any Foreign Aerial Attack' – Sana Pashankar, Becca Wasser, Kyle Kim and Stephanie Davidson, Bloomberg
• Trump's Trade Agreements Brought Stability but No Legitimacy – Alan Wm. Wolff, PIIE
• The Five Forces That Broke Capitalism - and One Possible Fix – John Authers, Bloomberg