U.S. House of Representatives

The House is the only remaining venue for a late rescue of the enhanced subsidies. - Passed three-year subsidy extension 230-196 on January 8 via rare discharge petition, defying Speaker Johnson

The ACA subsidy cliff has delivered the predicted damage. Enhanced premium tax credits expired on January 1, 2026, and by late January, enrollment data confirmed the worst fears: 1.2 to 1.4 million fewer Americans signed up for marketplace coverage compared to the prior year, with total 2026 enrollment falling to 22.8–22.9 million. Average premium payments for subsidized enrollees jumped 114% as projected—from $888 to $1,904 annually—while Trump administration changes to tax credit calculations amplified the shock. State exchanges reported steep declines: California saw new sign-ups fall 32%, Massachusetts lost 13,000 enrollees, and Mississippi expects 200,000 to abandon coverage. The predicted rate shock is no longer a forecast; it is reshaping the individual insurance market in real time.

Updated Feb 6

The House is the front line where Trump’s defense agenda, culture wars and oversight demands collide each NDAA season. - Passed both its own NDAA and the final compromise bill with bipartisan majorities.

President Trump signed a nearly $901 billion defense bill into law on December 18, 2025, cementing the 65th consecutive year Congress has passed a National Defense Authorization Act. The measure delivers troops a 3.8% pay raise, locks in $800 million in weapons support for Ukraine over two years, sets troop floors in Europe and South Korea that defy Trump's withdrawal instincts, and rewires how the Pentagon buys weapons through sweeping acquisition reforms branded as the SPEED Act. It also repeals the 2002 Iraq War authorization while embedding Trump-era cuts to climate and diversity programs across the military.

Updated Jan 9