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Reporter’s Notebook: GOP targets affordability with reconciliation 2.0 plan ahead of midterms
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It is said that in politics, the best idea is a stolen one.
Republicans are no dummies. They’re looking at what worked for Democrats last year as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani upset the primary field and rode easily to Gracie Mansion. They saw victories by New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill and Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger.
They all ran on affordability. That issue carried them to victory.
HEALTHCARE, ECONOMY AND THE ‘ONE BIG BEAUTIFUL BILL’: WELCOME TO THE MIDTERMS
Republican Study Committee Chairman Rep. August Pfluger speaks during a press conference with other members of the Republican Study Committee as well as members of House Republican leadership in Washington, Oct. 28, 2025. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
House conservatives are hungry for a legislative victory in the 2026 midterms. So, they’re focusing on bringing down the costs of housing and healthcare.
The Republican Study Committee (RSC), the largest bloc of conservatives in the House, released its blueprint recently.
«Here is the framework for what we’re calling the Make the American Dream Affordable Again,» boasted RSC Chairman Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas. «The reconciliation 2.0 plan.»
There’s that word again: reconciliation.
It’s a parliamentary term. Specifically, «budget reconciliation.» It doesn’t mean a great deal in the House — although the House must adopt a budgetary package. But budget reconciliation shouts from the mountaintops in the Senate. The Senate is where most legislation needs 60 votes to break a filibuster. But if a bill is budget-neutral and deals with numbers – not policy — it qualifies for the budget reconciliation process.
That’s where the political magic comes in.
Budget reconciliation measures are not subject to a filibuster. You only need a simple majority. Republicans used the budget reconciliation gambit to approve the One Big Beautiful Bill Act last year. Otherwise, Senate Republicans were stymied in their efforts. They only have 53 votes in the Senate. So the GOP made the decision to go it alone. And they may do so again this year.
«I think we’d be derelict in our duties if we didn’t try something with reconciliation, considering how difficult it is to get something done in a bipartisan way around here,» said Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. «Maybe there’s something that we can do with reconciliation. I think we ought to try it.»
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A runner jogs past the U.S. Capitol shortly after sunrise in Washington, Dec. 16, 2025. (Julia Demaree Nikhinson/AP Photo)
Rep. Eric Burlison, R-Mo., suggested that if the GOP didn’t try, they were squandering their majorities on Capitol Hill.
«The American people are not expecting a base hit. They need a home run. In short, this conference needs to go big or go home because the American people are going to send us home,» said Burlison.
The package eliminates the estate tax. That’s costly, dumping $281 billion onto the deficit.
Keep in mind this is coming from fiscal conservatives.
It also abolishes capital gains taxes on homes sold to first-time buyers.
«If you talk to anyone under the age of 40, they will tell you it is virtually impossible due to the inner barrier of entry. It is impossible to buy their first home,» said Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla. «First time homebuyers would be allowed to save for their down payment tax-free.»
So how do Republicans get this done?
«A lot of this we’ve got to do on our own,» said House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Fox. «So the reconciliation bill that we’re putting together right now will be just as beautiful. But just not as big as the one last year.»
It’s about the math.
And the math is utterly brutal for the GOP.
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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., talks with reporters after a meeting of the House Republican Conference at the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, Sept. 9, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)
House Republicans can only lose two votes right now and still pass a bill on their own. That margin slips to a single vote later this month after a runoff between two Democrats in a special election for a House seat in Texas.
The GOP numbers game has dominated the conversation in the House in 2026. Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., resigned. The late Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., died. Rep. Jim Baird, R-Ind., was in a car accident but returned with facial bruises and wearing a neck brace. Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., has been out because of eye surgery. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., missed time due to a medical issue involving his wife. But he’s back. The attendance of Rep. Wesley Hunt, R-Texas, has been sporadic as he tries to win the GOP nomination and unseat longtime Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, in the March primary. Rep. Steve Womack, R-Ark., is out because his wife died.
And inevitably, others will be out as we pass through the months.
You try to get 435 people in the same room at the same time.
So this is not going to be easy. And the GOP brain trust is skeptical.
«I’d sure love to do one (a reconciliation bill). But obviously, with a one-seat majority basically, it means we’ve all got to come together and agree on what that framework would look like,» said House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La. «There is no consensus yet in our conference.»
Following the Democrats’ election success last year — and the narrow vote matrix in the House, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is doubtful Republicans can pass much of anything.
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President Donald Trump speaks on inflation at Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mount Pocono, Pa., Dec. 9, 2025. (Adam Gray/Bloomberg/Getty Images)
«It’s strange to me after Republicans got crushed electorally all across the country, up and down the ballot in the off-year election last November, that now they’ve decided that perhaps they should actually try to keep their word and address the high cost of living in the United States of America. It’s all talk. There’s no action. These people are not serious,» said Jeffries. «These extremists don’t have the votes to get a reconciliation bill done.»
One key component of the bill is health insurance. It would cut out the middleman (the insurance companies) and send subsidies directly to consumers. That’s a specific request of President Trump.
«[We’re] redirecting Obamacare subsidies directly into the hands of patients. Not into the insurance companies,» said Pfluger.
Healthcare remains one of the most nettlesome issues in the history of the Congress. A bipartisan Senate working group was trying to craft a deal on healthcare. The hope was to create an off-ramp for the Obamacare subsidies, rather than forcing people to go cold turkey.
«The sooner, the better,» said Senate Health Committee Chairman Bill Cassidy, R-La., when pressed last week by yours truly about timing. «The longer it goes, the worse it gets.»
I asked Cassidy if they were «closer» than a few weeks ago.
«Probably,» replied Cassidy.
But Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said there’s an impasse.
«We are at a little bit of a pothole,» said Moreno, blaming the holdup on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.
Republicans hoped to campaign on the economic benefits of the Big Beautiful Bill. But Republicans concede they’ve had trouble selling it. GOPers are still bullish that voters will reap economic benefits this year — and pull the lever for Republicans. But voters are fickle. They want to see what lawmakers have done for them on affordability.
«I do think it’s the most important issue for November,» said House Budget Committee Chairman Joey Arrington, R-Texas. «But the question going into November is, can we accelerate what we’re seeing with gas prices coming down. Rent coming down. Mortgage rates.»
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Republicans hope to catch the wave.
The economy is always important in elections. It was clearly the issue in 2025. It might not be at the top in 2026. Consider potential consequences from Greenland, Iran and even the echoes of Minnesota.
In other words, Republicans may expend a lot of political capital on trying to advance another bill. Especially through «reconciliation.» But that might not score them much political benefit if voters have «reconciled» their reservations about the economy — and moved on to something else.
politics,midterm elections,republicans,congress,house of representatives politics,senate
El Grupo Patio, considerado uno de los holdings inmobiliarios más destacados de Chile, atraviesa una grave crisis interna derivada de acusaciones de manipulación en la valoración de la compañía y la presentación de querellas por parte de accionistas y afectados.
La empresa, fundada a comienzos de los años 2000 por la familia Jalaff, cuenta con más de USD 4.000 millones en activos y opera en Chile, Perú, México y Estados Unidos. En los últimos años, el grupo se consolidó como un referente en el mercado inmobiliario latinoamericano.
La crisis actual se originó tras la aparición de actas de directorio que reflejan presuntas malas prácticas y decisiones cuestionables. Este conflicto, reportan medios locales, ha generado una crisis de confianza, que podría limitar el acceso a financiamiento y afectar la relación con acreedores y la percepción general del mercado.
El foco del conflicto se sitúa en la determinación del precio de la participación de Antonio Jalaff, uno de los fundadores, basada en un informe elaborado por la consultora Econsult.
Un grupo de 23 aportantes y herederos de la familia Jalaff presentaron acciones judiciales, argumentando que el informe fue solicitado y financiado por quienes buscaban adquirir esas acciones, dando lugar, según su denuncia, a una valoración artificialmente baja.
Para la querella no hay dudas de que dicho informe fue solicitado y financiado por los compradores, lo que habría resultado en una apreciación artificialmente deprimida del real valor de Grupo Patio.
Según la querella, el informe de Econsult “construyó una imagen económica distorsionada y artificialmente depreciada del Grupo Patio, generando una apariencia falsa sobre el estado financiero del conglomerado”.
A esto se añade, según la denuncia, la falta de transparencia en la metodología, generando cuestionamientos sobre la objetividad del valor fijado y un fuerte impacto en el fondo administrado por el holding.
En declaraciones recogidas por Diario Financiero, Antonio Jalaff manifestó su inquietud sobre el daño sufrido por la empresa y su propia reputación. “Aquí hay gente que ha hecho malas prácticas para inflar su trayectoria empresarial y su ego, a costa del daño económico a acreedores que confiaron en mí y en una compañía que fundé junto a mi padre”, afirmó.
Ante el 4º Juzgado de Garantía de Santiago, Antonio Jalaff presentó una querella por estafa. En ella sostiene que la venta de su participación se realizó bajo una “maquinación fraudulenta”. El perjuicio económico estimado alcanza las 700.000 UF (unos USD 28,5 millones), al haberse concretado la operación a un precio que describe como artificialmente disminuido.
Jalaff denunció: “No nos quedó otra opción. Fueron los compradores y sus asesores quienes impusieron el valor final de la venta, y nos vimos obligados a aceptarlo… nunca aprobé la venta a ese precio, sino que fui arrastrado por las circunstancias y los quórums de las respectivas sociedades”, afirmó entonces.
Álvaro Jalaff sostuvo una posición similar y acusó en El Mostrador, que otros accionistas buscaron aislar a su familia, facilitando el control hostil del grupo.
La operación fue estructurada por Larraín Vial, la mayor corredora de bolsa y firma de finanzas corporativas de Chile. Su historial reciente, que incluye otros escándalo de corrucpción conocido como el caso Factop, agrega presión reputacional al proceso.
Las repercusiones de este caso se extienden más allá del ámbito judicial, impactan la confianza en la gobernanza corporativa y la transparencia financiera dentro de los grandes conglomerados regionales. Los efectos, advierten medios locales, podrían convertirse en un precedente para la gestión empresarial y la dinámica de poder en el sector inmobiliario de Chile y Latinoamérica.
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Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro’s regime was crucial to propping up America’s closest Communist neighbor, Cuba, for many years — but with the despot now in a New York prison, U.S. lawmakers and analysts are turning their attention to Mexico, a top U.S. ally and trading partner that has quietly taken Venezuela’s place.
As of January, Mexico reportedly accounted for 13,000 barrels per day, or 44%, of Cuba’s 2025 oil imports, the top factor keeping what some lawmakers describe as a teetering economy barely afloat. With renewed trade talks approaching in July, Republican lawmakers and conservative analysts are calling for increased pressure on Mexico to cut off Cuba’s oil lifeline.
The Trump administration is also weighing instituting a maritime blockade on oil imports to Cuba, according to Politico. The outlet noted that the move would be an escalation of its previously-stated plan to cut off imports from Venezuela, where Maduro’s former Vice President Delcy Rodríguez is now acting president. Such a blockade could spur crisis in the country and lead to the economic collapse of the Castro/Diaz-Canel regime for which much of the U.S. diaspora has long hoped.
«The Cuban government was, even before this action with Maduro, probably at the weakest point that the regime has been in the last 65 years,» said Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., the only Cuban-born member of Congress.
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, left; Cuban dictator Miguel Diaz-Canel, right. (Sergio Morales/Getty Images; Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)
«This just makes them weaker. My one concern is that it appears that Mexico is now trying to prop them up. And so, the oil that they were receiving from Venezuela is now being supplanted by oil being received by Mexico.»
The Florida Republican said Mexico is in such a position in part because it is «governed by a Marxist,» casting criticism of socialist-party-aligned President Claudia Sheinbaum.
«The oil that they were receiving from Venezuela is now being supplanted by oil being received by Mexico,» he said.
«It doesn’t matter that [the Miguel Diaz-Canel] regime [in Cuba] has been suppressing and oppressing its people for 65 years, as long as they have the right ideology.»
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Gimenez said that Congress could use upcoming intracontinental trade talks over the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) to pressure Sheinbaum to stop supporting the dictatorship just 90 miles from Fort Zachary Taylor, at the southern tip of his district.
Cuba is already experiencing rolling blackouts, inability to feed its people, medical shortages and a nosedive in tourism due to those developments, he said.
«Would it be okay for us to kind of nudge them over the edge? I don’t know a problem with that,» he quipped.
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Andres Martinez-Fernandez, a Latin America and national security policy analyst who leads the Heritage Foundation’s research on the region, told Fox News Digital that U.S. tolerance for Mexico’s new position may not last.
«It’s a major issue,» he said, adding the Mexico-Cuba relationship got to «worrying levels» under Sheinbaum’s predecessor and now involves a Cuban medical program he called «forced slavery for revenue» involving Cuban doctors arriving in Mexico and sending remittances home – much of which can get funneled to the regime.
If Mexico City wants to continue aiding Havana, it had better prepare for «severe pushback,» he said, similarly citing the USMCA negotiations that Gimenez mentioned.
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Those aspects, along with President Donald Trump’s discontent with Sheinbaum’s resistance to U.S. action against cartels could come to a head, he suggested, calling Mexico’s attitude «mendacious and duplicitous.»
«It says nothing good if they decide, to maintain this overt support for the Cuban regime as we continue to see this inadequate action on the cartel front.»
Trump declared earlier this month that there will be «no more oil or money going to Cuba – Zero» and the Department of War has been seizing sanctioned «shadow-fleet» oil tankers.
A White House official said Cuba is failing of its own volition and that its rulers suffered a major setback in losing support from the ousted Maduro regime. Trump believes Cuba should make a deal «before it is too late.»
Meanwhile, the aforementioned USMCA talks are scheduled to take place in July, when the trilateral trade deal undergoes a scheduled review.
The U.S. is likely to seek additional concessions from Mexico and Canada amid trade disputes, the Center for Strategic and International Studies predicted last year, with the interceding Mexico-Cuba development likely to further invigorate such demands.
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A man waves a Cuban flag at a protest. (Yamil Lage/Getty Images)
The Sheinbaum administration, which did not respond to a request for comment, has reportedly painted its shipments as «humanitarian aid» for the Cuban people.
If Mexico continues oil shipments, it may lead to additionally tense relations between the U.S. and its southern neighbor, already frayed by Trump’s disdain for Sheinbaum’s steadfast refusal to allow American intercession against drug cartels.
If the shipments slacken, that may portend well for the aforementioned upcoming trade negotiations.
As for Cuba, many pro-democracy voices, particularly among the South Florida diaspora, hope the 66-year Castro/Diaz-Canel regime is not long for this world.
Martinez-Fernandez added the regime is likely facing one of the most difficult moments in its history; Mexico’s role aside.
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In the 1990s, Cuba lost its larger «patron,» the Soviet Union, he said, and hit a rough patch until Hugo Chavez took power in 1999.
He added that while there has been Western concern about a Chinese foothold there, Beijing appears to have largely «cut ties» and said «there’s nothing new here.»
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«I do think that there is a likely need for additional developments before we see… That kind of next step collapse of the regime itself,» he said.
Fox News Digital reached out to the White House, Commerce Department and the Palacio Nacional for comment.
venezuelan political crisis,cuba,mexico,location mexico,donald trump,energy
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