Washington Today

White House and Democratic lawmakers weigh in on President Donald Trump's Wednesday night primetime TV year-end address, during which the president highlighted what he sees as his achievements after almost a year in office; Democrats make a last-ditch effort to get a vote to extend expiring Affordable Care Act health insurance premium subsidies; Health

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Four House Republicans sign a discharge petition introduced by Democrats to force a vote an extension of expiring Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits in defiance of the wishes of Republican Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA); House votes on a bill to criminalize providing gender-affirming care to minors; House votes on bill to prohibit the President Donald Trump from striking alleged drug smuggling boats in the Caribbean and Eastern Pacific and carrying out military strikes against Venezuela without Congressional authorization under the War Powers Act; Senate passes the $900 billion National Defense Authorization Act, sending to the president to be signed into law; Senate also passes a bill to provision to reverse a provision in the NDAA concerning safe operation of military helicopters around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport; President Donald Trump delivers an address to the nation tonight from the White House; former special counsel Jack Smith testifies in closed session before the House Judiciary Committee, which is investigating his investigations of alleged criminal conduct of Donald Trump.

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Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) says there will not be a vote on an amendment to extend expiring Affordable Care Act enhanced premium

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Congress is back to work today, and health care remains the top issue. The House is expected to vote this week on an extension of the expiring health care tax credits along with Republicans’ alternative proposal… Over in the Senate, debate continues on the annual Defense policy bill…

And reaction continues to the two mass shootings that happened over the weekend on opposite sides of the world….Authorities continue to work to find the suspect who opened fire at Brown University…killing at least two students and injuring nine others…

Meanwhile, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese convened his government to come up with ways to tighten gun ownership rules…following an attack in Sydney's Bond-eye Beach that killed at least 15 people and injured at least 40 others at a Hanukkah celebration…Prime Minister Albanese called the attack an act of antisemitic terrorism….

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First: A conversation with National Farmers Union's Mike Stranz – about the state of the U.S. agriculture industry, including the impact of the Trump tariffs and the recently announced aid package to farmers.

Then: Career Education Colleges and Universities President & CEO Jason Altmire discusses a new poll that examines Americans' declining attitudes on the value of a four-year college degree, and educational alternatives to it.

And finally: Author, law professor, and ABC News legal contributor Kim Wehle discusses the use of executive power by the Trump Administration.

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Kilmar Abrego Garcia checks in at an Immigration & Customs Enforcement field office in Baltimore, under protection from a judge's order not to be rearrested. He says he believes the injustice done to him by the Trump Administration will come to an end; House Republican leadership says a vote to extend Affordable Care Act enhanced premium subsidies may happen next week. The tax credits are set to expire at the end of the month, raising costs for 20 million Americans; State legislators are pushing back against President Donald Trump's Executive Order limiting state regulation of artificial intelligence; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth travels to Huntsville, Alabama, known as Rocket City, to visit defense contractors & U.S. Space Command; Walter Cronkite Awards for Excellence in Political Journalism are handed out at the National Press Club in Washington. We will hear two winners, CBS 60 Minutes' Correspondent Scott Pelley and Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show, which won in a new 'comedic commentary' category; Today is the 25th Anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision in Bush v. Gore to prevent a new presidential election vote recount in Florida, giving Republican George W. Bush the victory over Democrat Al Gore.

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Senate fails to advance both Democratic and Republican health care bills the sponsors say would address expected increase in costs for millions of Americans Affordable Care Act insurance at the end of the month when enhanced premium tax credits are set to expire; House passes a bill to reverse President Donald Trump's Executive Order limiting the collective bargaining rights of around one million federal workers in national security departments & agencies; Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) cancels a meeting to unveil major changes to how the agency responds to natural disasters. We will talk about it with The Hill's Energy

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Federal Reserve cuts interest rates a quarter of a percentage point. We will hear from the Chair and President Donald Trump and speak with The Hill's Business Editor Sylvan Lane (4); Speaker Mike Johnson presents a range of health care reform bills to House Republicans that could be voted on soon, but not among them is the Democrat's priority of extending expiring Affordable Care Act insurance premium enhanced subsidies;

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President Donald Trump travels to Pennsylvania for a rally to talk about rising costs and his economic agenda; Senate Republicans say they will offer an alternative health care plan involving personal Health Savings Accounts when the Senate Democratic bill to extend expiring Obamacare health insurance enhanced premium supports comes up for a vote on Thursday; Gov. JB Pritzker (D-IL) signs a bill to provide greater legal protections to immigrants, as the federal immigration officials double down on enforcement operations in the city; Supreme Court hears a case challenging a rule that prevents wealthy donors from going around campaign contribution limits by funneling money through political parties; Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Gen. Dan Caine, chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff & Secretary of State Marco Rubio brief senior Senators on the deadly strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats in the Caribbean; musician Gene Simmons from the rock band KISS testifies before a Senate Judiciary Subcommittee about a bill to require radio station owners pay performers to play their songs.

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Congress is back to work this week…And on the Senate's agenda—a vote on extending health care tax credits past the end of the month…Democrats want a simple three-year extension of the tax credits…Republicans oppose that but have yet to put out a plan of their own… The tax credits help millions of Americans pay for insurance on state-run exchanges…We'll hear what Sens. Thune and Schumer had to say about it on the floor earlier this afternoon…

Also today, the White House announced a 12 billion dollars aid package to American farmers...who have been hurt by the US-China trade war…It includes 11 billion dollars in one-time payments to farmers who grow corn, cotton, soybeans and other crops…The President talked about it at a roundtable event…We'll hear from him coming up…

And at the Supreme Court—oral arguments in the case of Trump v Slaughter…a case that centers on whether presidents can fire officials of independent agencies without cause…It all started back in March when President Trump fired Federal Trade Commission member Rebecca Slaughter…Saying that her service was “inconsistent” with his goals…. Rebecca Slaughter then sued, arguing that she can be removed only for specific reasons…Today the court heard this case…We'll play you part of what happened inside the court room…

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