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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.
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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
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Fetterman urges Minneapolis ICE op to stand down as city spirals to ‘ungovernable and dangerous’ levels
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Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman is calling for an immediate end to the Minnesota immigration crackdown after the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti Saturday by federal law enforcement, he said in comment to Fox News Digital.
«The operation in Minneapolis should stand down and immediately end,» Fetterman said Monday in a comment to Fox News Digital. «It has become an ungovernable and dangerous urban theatre for civilians and law enforcement that is incompatible with the American spirit.»
«As a very pro-immigration Democrat and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Border Management, I believe our nation deserves a secured border and that we should deport all criminal migrants,» he continued. «I also believe there needs to be a path to citizenship for those hardworking families who are here.»
Fetterman’s comments on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operation follow his vocal support of federal law enforcement officers, breaking with many Democrat colleagues who have called for the end to the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and for ICE overall to be defunded.
FORMER ICE AGENT CALLS POLICE NON-COOPERATION ‘FORMULA FOR DISASTER’ AFTER SECOND MINNEAPOLIS SHOOTING DEATH
Sen. John Fetterman’s wife, Gisele, took aim at ICE and Trump administration immigration policies in an X post. (Mark Makela/Getty Images)
«Secure the border. Deport all the criminals. Stop targeting the hardworking migrants in our nation,» Fetterman posted to X earlier in January.
Fetterman added in his statement Monday that he continues to buck calls to defund ICE.
Fox News Digital reached out to Fetterman’s office Monday morning inquiring about his wife’s X post blasting the Trump administration’s immigration policies, even as her husband has publicly backed federal immigration officers.
«For more than a decade, I lived undocumented in the US. Every day carried the same uncertainty and fear lived in my body – a tight chest, shallow breaths, racing heart,» the senator’s wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman, wrote Sunday. «What I thought was my private, chronic dread has now become a shared national wound.»
«This now-daily violence is not ‘law and order.’ It is terror inflicted on people who contribute, love and build their lives here,» she continued. «It’s devastatingly cruel and unAmerican.»
Gisele Barreto Fetterman previously has discussed moving to the U.S. from Brazil as a child, including as an illegal immigrant for a decade.
Alex Pretti, 37, was fatally shot Saturday by Border Patrol agents in Minnesota while filming federal officers on a Minneapolis street. Federal officials say Pretti approached agents with a 9 mm handgun and resisted disarmament, while witnesses have cast doubt on if Pretti, an ICU nurse, posed a threat to agents.
President Donald Trump told The Wall Street Journal Sunday that his administration is «reviewing everything,» surrounding the case, but did not say whether the agent who shot Pretti acted appropriately.
Sen. John Fetterman participates in a debate, June 2, 2025, in Boston. (Steven Senne, File/The Associated Press )
The fatal shooting, which follows the Jan. 7 fatal ICE shooting of Renee Good, has sparked outrage among Democrats and critics of the president who say Trump administration immigration policies are causing chaos for communities, while describing the shooting deaths of the two Americans as «murder.»
ANTI-ICE AGITATORS CLASH WITH FEDERAL AGENTS AT MINNEAPOLIS HOTEL, AS AGENTS DEPLOY TEAR GAS, FLASHBANGS
Former President Bill Clinton, for example, issued a searing rebuke of the immigration crackdown following Pretti’s death, calling it an «unacceptable» tragedy that «should have been avoided.»
A man arrested by federal agents moments prior escapes in handcuffs after tear gas went off, Jan. 21, 2026, in Minneapolis. (Angelina Katsanis/The Associated Press )
Fetterman said in comment to Fox News Digital that «Ms. Good and Mr. Pretti should still be alive» and that his «family grieves for theirs.»
«I’ve also spent significant time hearing many different positions on the funding bills and maintain that I will never vote to shut our government down, especially our Defense Department.
«Additionally, a vote to shut our government down will not defund ICE. DHS has $178B in funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which I did not vote for,» he said. «I reject the calls to defund or abolish ICE. I strongly disagree with many strategies and practices ICE deployed in Minneapolis, and believe that must change.»
«I want a conversation on the DHS appropriations bill and support stripping it from the minibus,» he continued. «It is unlikely that will happen and our country will suffer another shutdown. We must find a way forward and I remain committed to being a voice of reason and common sense.»
JD VANCE SHARES ‘CRAZY’ STORY OF ICE AND CBP OFFICERS BEING MOBBED IN MINNEAPOLIS
A Minnesota National Guard vehicle blocks off a road near the scene of a shooting earlier in the day, Saturday, Jan. 24, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Trump announced Monday that he was deploying White House border czar Tom Homan to Minnesota, and that he will report directly to the president.
«Tom Homan will be managing ICE operations on the ground in Minnesota and coordinating with others on the ongoing fraud investigations,» White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox Digital Monday.
Leavitt said Monday during a White House press briefing that the administration is calling on Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to agree in order to bring peace to the Twin Cities.
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«Number one, Governor Walz, Mayor Frye and all Democrat leaders should turn over all criminal illegal aliens currently incarcerated in their prisons and jails to federal authorities, along with any illegal aliens with active warrants or known criminal histories for immediate deportation,» Leavitt said. «Number two, state and local law enforcement must agree to turn over all illegal aliens who are arrested by local police. And then thirdly, local police must assist federal law enforcement in apprehending and detaining illegal aliens who are wanted for crimes, especially violent crimes.»
Walz and Trump shared what was described as a productive phone call Monday morning, with the state calling on the president to work together to quell the chaos, Trump said on Truth Social.
john fetterman,donald trump,minnesota,immigration
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Chinese hackers reportedly breached phones at ‘heart of Downing Street’ in global spy campaign
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Chinese state-linked hackers breached mobile phones at «the heart of Downing Street» amid a global cyber-espionage campaign over several years targeting telecommunication networks, according to reports.
U.S. officials first alerted its allies in 2024 after finding out that hacking groups had gained access to telecom companies around the world, according to The Associated Press.
The campaign reportedly targeted multiple countries, including the U.S. and the other members of the Five Eyes intelligence alliance: Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
The breaches allegedly gave China access to the phone data of millions and the possible ability to eavesdrop on calls, read text messages and track users’ locations.
EX-TRUMP DHS OFFICIAL SOUNDS ALARM OVER NATIONAL SECURITY THREAT WITHIN CRITICAL US INDUSTRY
Chinese cyberattacks reportedly reached «the heart» of the U.K.’s Downing Street, a source told The Telegraph. (Thomas Trutschel/Photothek via Getty Images)
The hackers also had the ability to record calls «at will» according to Anne Neuberger, who was a deputy U.S. national security adviser between January 2021 and January 2025, The Telegraph reported.
Neuberger said that the «Chinese gained access to networks and essentially had broad and full access,» giving them the capability to «geolocate millions of individuals, to record phone calls at will.»
U.S. intelligence agencies believe the breaches date back to at least 2021, but they were only identified and disclosed by U.S. authorities in 2024.
SECRET ROOM TO BE BUILT AT CHINESE EMBASSY NEAR CABLE LINES, SPARKING WIDESPREAD ESPIONAGE FEARS
A source told The Telegraph that the breach went «right into the heart of Downing Street.» (Leon Neal/Getty Images)
In 2024, The Associated Press reported that U.S. federal authorities urged telecommunication companies to boost network security. The guidance, issued by the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, was to help root out the hackers and prevent similar attacks in the future.
A joint cybersecurity advisory was issued in August 2025, with the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) and allied partners warning that Chinese state-sponsored actors were targeting networks globally.
«The malicious activity outlined in the advisory partially overlaps with cybersecurity industry reporting on Chinese state-sponsored threat actors referred to by names such as Salt Typhoon,» an NSA release said.
In the U.K., officials raised concerns that senior government figures may also have been exposed. One source told The Telegraph that the breach went «right into the heart of Downing Street.»
MASSIVE TELECOM BUST IN MAJOR CITY IS ‘WAKE-UP CALL’ AS FOREIGN ADVERSARIES THREATEN US SECURITY: EXPERTS
There were reportedly «many» hacking attacks on phones across the British government, particularly under the tenure of Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. (Hannah McKay/Reuters)
Similarly, The Telegraph was told that there were «many» different hacking attacks on the phones of Downing Street staff and across wider government, especially when Rishi Sunak was prime minister between 2022 and 2024.
Yuval Wollman, a former Israeli intelligence chief, also told The Telegraph that Salt Typhoon was «one of the most prominent names» in the cyber-espionage world.
«While much of the public reporting has focused on U.S. targets, Salt Typhoon’s operations have extended into Europe, the Middle East and Africa, where it has targeted telecoms firms, government entities and technology companies,» Wollman of cybersecurity platform CyberProof added.
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In the past, China’s foreign ministry dismissed the claims as «baseless» and «lacking evidence,» according to The Telegraph.
Fox News Digital has reached out to Downing Street for comment.
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La Asamblea Nacional de Francia aprobó un proyecto de ley que prohíbe el acceso a las redes sociales a menores de 15 años
La Asamblea Nacional de Francia aprobó el lunes un proyecto de ley que prohíbe el acceso a las redes sociales a los menores de 15 años y veta el uso de teléfonos móviles en los institutos, con el objetivo de que la medida entre en vigor desde el inicio del próximo curso escolar.
Tras un debate que se extendió hasta pasada la medianoche, los diputados respaldaron el texto con 130 votos a favor y 21 en contra. El proyecto, tramitado por el procedimiento de urgencia, pasa ahora al Senado, cuya aprobación resulta necesaria para su aplicación a partir del 1 de septiembre.
Durante la discusión parlamentaria, la diputada oficialista Laure Miller, una de las impulsoras de la iniciativa, defendió la prohibición con el argumento de que “no se puede dejar que un niño tenga que gestionar algo adictivo (las redes) por sí solo”. En su intervención, aludió a los algoritmos que conducen a los menores hacia contenidos vinculados con tendencias suicidas y de automutilación, con especial énfasis en TikTok.
“Prometía incentivar la creatividad y la alegría y ha sucedido todo lo contrario”, afirmó Miller ante el pleno. La parlamentaria sostuvo además que los estudios científicos muestran que, a causa de las redes sociales, los menores “duermen menos, se mueven menos, leen menos y se comparan más” entre sí.
Entre las intervenciones del Gobierno, destacó la del ministro de Educación, Edouard Geffray, quien celebró la restricción de los teléfonos móviles prevista para los institutos, tras la prohibición decretada en 2018 en secundaria, primaria y preescolar. “Esta medida ha tenido efectos positivos, tanto en el ambiente escolar como en el aprendizaje”, expresó el ministro, al tiempo que lamentó que una gran parte de los jóvenes “pasen más tiempo semanal viendo pantallas que en horas lectivas”.
Antes de la votación final, la Asamblea rechazó una moción de inadmisión presentada por el principal partido de izquierdas, La Francia Insumisa, que calificó la prohibición de “inaplicable” y sostuvo que “no cambia nada”.
El diputado Louis Boyard, de 25 años, expuso sus objeciones al sistema de verificación de edad con ejemplos concretos. “¿Saben cómo es sencillo evitarla? En Australia, basta con que alguien con aspecto de más de 18 años se preste para el reconocimiento facial en el lugar del menor. O que el menor se maquille para parecer de más edad”, señaló.
La propuesta legislativa responde a un impulso político del presidente Emmanuel Macron, quien reclamó un trámite acelerado para su adopción con el objetivo de proteger a los menores. El mandatario celebró en la red social X el avance del proyecto y afirmó: “Porque el cerebro de nuestros hijos no está en venta. Ni a las plataformas estadounidenses ni a las redes chinas. Porque sus sueños no pueden estar dictados por algoritmos. Porque no queremos una generación ansiosa, sino una generación que crea en Francia, la República y sus valores”.
La futura norma consta de dos artículos y busca fijar un marco “claro” sobre el uso del móvil y de las redes sociales para los menores de 15 años. Así lo expresó Macron en un video difundido la víspera por la cadena BFMTV, en el que reiteró la prioridad del Ejecutivo para lograr un consenso parlamentario amplio en un contexto marcado por la falta de mayoría en la Asamblea Nacional.
En otra intervención pública, el presidente subrayó: “El cerebro de nuestros niños y de nuestros adolescentes no está en venta. Las emociones de nuestros menores y de nuestros adolescentes no se venden ni se manipulan, ni por las plataformas estadounidenses ni por los algoritmos chinos”.
El Gobierno fundamenta la iniciativa en informes sanitarios que advierten sobre los efectos psicológicos de las redes sociales en la población menor de edad. A comienzos de este año, la Agencia Francesa de Seguridad Alimentaria, Ambiental y Laboral (ANSES) publicó un informe que señaló que plataformas como TikTok, Snapchat e Instagram perjudican gravemente la salud mental de los adolescentes.
Según la ANSES, los riesgos incluyen la comparación constante, la exposición a contenidos violentos, los mecanismos de captación de la atención que alteran el sueño y el ciberacoso. Estos elementos forman parte del diagnóstico utilizado por el Ejecutivo para sostener la necesidad de una regulación más estricta.
La ley también deberá ajustarse al reglamento de servicios digitales de la Unión Europea, requisito que busca evitar el bloqueo que sufrió una iniciativa similar en 2023, orientada a fijar la mayoría digital en los 15 años y que no se aplicó por su incompatibilidad con ese marco normativo comunitario.
(Con información de AFP)
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