Today in one sentence: The White House postponed its new Affordable Care Act subsidy plan after Speaker Mike Johnson said House Republicans wouldn’t support it; the FBI requested interviews with six Democratic members of Congress who appeared in a recent video telling U.S. troops and intelligence officials they can refuse unlawful orders; the U.S. said Ukraine agreed to a revised American-drafted peace plan to end Russia's war; U.S. consumer confidence fell in November to its lowest level since April; and Trump used his first White House turkey pardon of his second term to turn holiday ritual into criticizing Biden and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker.

1/ The White House postponed its new Affordable Care Act subsidy plan after Speaker Mike Johnson said House Republicans wouldn’t support it. The Trump administration had drafted a framework to extend the enhanced ACA subsidies for two years with new income caps, required minimum premium payments, tighter fraud controls, and options to route some aid into health savings accounts. Republicans, however, rejected the plan because it would still extend ACA subsidies they have long opposed, raised concerns about abortion coverage, and angered some lawmakers who said they first saw the proposal’s details on social media rather than from the administration. Subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year for more than 20 million people, and Democrats have warned that premiums will jump if Congress doesn’t act. (Wall Street Journal / New York Times / Politico / Bloomberg / CNN / USA Today / Associated Press / CBS News / Axios / CNBC)

2/ The FBI requested interviews with six Democratic members of Congress who appeared in a recent video telling U.S. troops and intelligence officials they can refuse unlawful orders. Neither the FBI nor the Justice Department has identified any specific crime they are investigating or brought formal charges, but Trump has called the lawmakers’ actions “seditious” and repeatedly suggested their behavior was “punishable by DEATH.” Federal law, however, sets a maximum 20-year sentence for seditious conspiracy. The lawmakers accused Trump of trying to “weaponize” the FBI to intimidate his political opponents, saying “the President directing the FBI to target us is exactly why we made this video in the first place.” Separately, the Pentagon opened an investigation into Sen. Mark Kelly, who officials said could be recalled to active duty for possible court martial over his role in the video. The Justice Department, meanwhile, said the FBI interviews are meant to determine “if there’s any wrongdoing, and then go from there.” (USA Today / Bloomberg / Reuters / Washington Post / Politico / ABC News / CNN / Associated Press / Axios)

  • Trump is reportedly considering firing FBI Director Kash Patel, frustrated by the negative reporting about his use of government jets and a special security detail for his girlfriend. The White House called the report “completely made up” while Trump said Patel was “doing a great job.” (MS Now)

3/ The U.S. said Ukraine agreed to a revised American-drafted peace plan to end Russia’s war. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and adviser Jared Kushner wrote the original 28-point framework, which was widely criticized in Ukraine and Europe as favoring Moscow, while consulting Kremlin envoy Kirill Dmitriev in secret meetings in Miami, and Witkoff separately coached senior Putin aide Yuri Ushakov on how the Russian leader should pitch a matching “peace plan” to Trump. Asked about Witkoff’s approach, Trump called it a “standard negotiation.” After a week of talks in Geneva, Kyiv and Abu Dhabi, the plan has been cut to 19 points, dropping a proposed wartime amnesty, keeps Ukraine from expanding its roughly 800,000-strong army, and leaves decisions on territory and NATO membership to later talks among the presidents. President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine and the U.S. have a “common understanding” on core terms but stressed that “much work” remains, while Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Russia is still waiting for an “interim” text and warns it must reflect the “spirit and letter” of Trump’s Alaska meeting with Putin. Even so, Trump said there are “only a few remaining points of disagreement,” and that he will meet Putin and Zelensky only once a deal is in its final stages. Meanwhile, Russia’s latest missile and drone attacks killed at least seven people in Kyiv and three in southern Russia, which Zelensky and European leaders said undercut any serious push for peace. (ABC News / Washington Post / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / New York Times / NBC News / New York Times / Wall Street Journal / CNN / Bloomberg / Axios)

4/ U.S. consumer confidence fell in November to its lowest level since April as weaker job growth, stubborn inflation and the recent government shutdown weighed on Americans’ views of the economy. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 88.7 from 95.5 in October and its expectations gauge fell to 63.2, with fewer households planning to buy cars, homes and other big-ticket items. Shutdown-delayed Commerce Department data showed retail sales rose only 0.2% in September, below forecasts, as shoppers cut back on tariff-hit goods such as autos, electronics, clothing and online purchases while spending more at bars and restaurants, and core sales excluding autos, gasoline, building materials and food services fell 0.1%. A Labor Department report said producer prices increased 0.3% in September, led by higher energy and food costs, keeping inflation near 3% compared with the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal even as unemployment reached 4.4% and private employers cut an average of 13,500 jobs a week in early November. Economists, meanwhile, said tariffs, higher prices and a slowing labor market are squeezing many middle- and lower-income households even as higher-income consumers keep spending, warning that household finances are “more fragile than they were a few years ago.” (CNBC / Reuters / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Reuters / Axios / Washington Post / Associated Press)

5/ Trump used his first White House turkey pardon of his second term to turn holiday ritual into criticizing Biden and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker. At the Rose Garden event, Trump claimed Biden’s 2024 turkey pardons were “totally invalid” because they were signed with an autopen and said he was now “officially pardoning” last year’s birds, Peach and Blossom, who were “on their way to be processed.” He “joked” that he almost named this year’s turkeys “Chuck and Nancy,” after Sen. Chuck Schumer and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, adding, “I would never pardon those two people.” Trump also mocked Pritzker’s appearance, saying, “I refuse to talk about the fact that he’s a fat slob,” before adding that he wanted to lose weight himself. (ABC News / NBC News / USA Today / CNBC / CNN / The Hill / Politico)

The 2026 midterms are in 343 days.

  • 🖤 A Black Friday “sale,” but pay-it-forward.

  • Ah yes, it’s that time of year when your inbox is full of discount codes to buy more stuff you don’t need. Regretfully, I don’t have anything to sell you.

  • But I do have a community to support. WTFJHT is free for all because not everyone has the time or money to spend on the news. The only reason that works is that about 2% of readers choose to pay it forward for everyone else. It costs about $1.81 a year to send this newsletter to one person. With an average contribution of $5.89 a month, each supporter effectively keeps WTFJHT free for 39 other readers.

  • So here’s a different kind of Black Friday “sale,” such as it is:

  • Instead of 40% off on stuff you don’t need, it’s a one-time $5.89 tip to cover the cost of this newsletter for 39 other readers. Because that’s how WTFJHT works: a small group of readers choosing to be stakeholders so this independent, reader-funded briefing can stay free and accessible to everyone who needs it.

  • If you’re in a good financial spot this season and this newsletter helps you make the news make sense, consider paying it forward. Chip in $5.89 to keep WTFJHT free for 39 other readers.

Six years ago today: Day 1040: Without reason.