On Our "Virtual Route 99" Around the World (Special Mid-Week Edition)

 

We present a mid-week discourse on Our World as we fly off to 2026 here at The Daily Outsider:  

By Blake Jones and Dustin Gardiner

Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a campaign event on Proposition 50, Nov. 1, 2025, in Los Angeles. | Ethan Swope/AP

ON THE GROUND IN LA — Gavin Newsom is trolling his way into the collective hearts of the Democratic Party’s most influential activists, Melanie Mason and Liam Dillon report from Los Angeles, where the Democratic National Committee is holding its winter meeting. On Thursday, a throng of delegates jockeyed for selfies with the California governor for more than half an hour before his aides pulled him away for meetings. It was a parlaying of Newsom’s bombastic social media posture into an in-real-life commotion at the DNC — coming in his own backyard, where questions have swirled about whether his decidedly West Coast affect will translate to a broader audience. And it was the newest sign of the likely 2028 presidential contender’s influence in the party, according to interviews with more than 20 DNC members. And there’s this … In Los Angeles, Newsom met privately with Ken Martin, the DNC chair, as well as the party chairs from the early-voting states of Nevada and New Hampshire, according to a person familiar with the meetings and granted anonymity to describe them. (Read the story here.)

Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) speaks with a reporter as he walks to a vote at the U.S. Capitol Sept. 18, 2025. | Francis Chung/POLITICO

ACA BIND — Frontline House Republicans are embroiled in an intraparty health care fight that could hinder their reelection campaigns. California Reps. David Valadao and Kevin Kiley on Thursday were powerless to stop their Senate colleagues from killing competing proposals aimed at stopping — or at least limiting — lapses in coverage as Affordable Care Act subsidies are set to expire. No reprieve: Though Speaker Mike Johnson expressed some level of sympathy for the House Republicans supporting discharge petitions that would force a vote to extend the subsidies, he gave no indication in an interview with Meredith Lee Hill that he would change his course of letting the tax credits expire. “I understand the dilemma they see themselves in. But, I mean, I don’t endorse it,” Johnson said Thursday. House GOP leadership is planning to put a health care plan to a vote next week, but it’s unlikely to include the Obamacare tax credits, Meredith reported. High electoral stakes: Kiley and Valadao both support different extension legislation, and have signed discharge petitions trying to force a vote on the issue. But the targets of California’s recent gerrymander will be at even greater political risk if constituents losing health care access blame the party in power — and by proxy, their Republican representatives — for the subsidies expiring. The midterms, Republican Sen. Jim Justice said Thursday, won’t be just about health care, “but if you're not concerned, then you're living in a cave.” Insulation from attacks: Kiley, who has repeatedly split with Johnson in recent weeks, faulted “the leadership of both parties” for failing “to work towards a bipartisan solution to this pressing problem,” in a statement. He’s co-sponsoring legislation with Democratic Rep. Sam Liccardo geared at an extension among other changes, and is backing two other similar bills. “We are pursuing all possible avenues for getting one of these bills enacted by the end of the year,” Kiley said. “The consequences of not doing so will be dire, with independent contractors, small business owners and employees, and retirees being forced to pay a price that many cannot afford." Valadao, who like Kiley is co-sponsoring an extension, acknowledged that “families and small business owners across the Central Valley have told me they’re frustrated and worried as their health insurance premiums keep climbing.” “We can’t allow these credits to expire without a reasonable plan in place, and passing either bipartisan bill would make sure that individuals who receive coverage through the Affordable Care Act Health Insurance Marketplace continue to receive the enhanced tax credit while Congress works toward a more permanent solution,” Valadao said in a statement. An endless onslaught: Democratic opponents, unions and health care groups have already been raining down ads in frontline members’ districts criticizing them for their votes for Medicaid cuts included in the “Big Beautiful Bill.” Both Kiley and Valadao voted for the legislation. Now, the expiration of subsidies is likely to become a focus of ads from Protect Our Health, said the group’s California State Director Matthew Herdman. The Democratic-leaning group has been engaged in a multimillion-dollar campaign targeting the airwaves of key congressional districts, including Valadao’s. “In 2017 David Valadao voted to repeal the ACA and voters kicked him out of office the next chance they got. This year he voted to send ACA premiums skyrocketing and cut Medicaid for millions,” Herdman said. “It doesn’t take a crystal ball to know how his constituents will react next year.”

Trump's $11 Billion Farm Bailout Is Further Proof That Tariffs Aren't Working

But don't expect the White House to think too hard about it.

By Eric Boehm

Trump Is Still Claiming He Saves '25,000 American Lives' When He Blows Up a Suspected Drug Boat

So far, by the president's reckoning, he has prevented 650,000 U.S. drug deaths—eight times the number recorded last year.

By Jacob Sullum