Today in one sentence: The Senate rejected competing Democratic and Republican health care bills, all but ensuring that enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies used by more than 20 million Americans will expire at the end of the year; more than 250 people in South Carolina have been quarantined due to a measles outbreak; a federal grand jury – again – refused to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James; a federal judge ordered ICE to immediately release Kilmar Abrego Garcia, saying the government had no lawful basis to keep him detained and had “affirmatively misled the tribunal” about his deportation options; Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown at a House Homeland Security Committee; the Trump administration said it would keep the oil from a seized tanker taken off Venezuela’s coast; Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said federal jobs reports were likely overstating hiring by about 60,000 jobs a month since April, implying the economy may actually be losing about 20,000 jobs a month and that payroll growth “may actually be negative”; 31% of Americans approve of how Trump is handling the economy; and 46% of U.S. voters 50 and older say they plan to vote for the Republican in their congressional district, compared with 38% who say they will vote Democratic.

1/ The Senate rejected competing Democratic and Republican health care bills, all but ensuring that enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies used by more than 20 million Americans will expire at the end of the year. Both the Democratic proposal to extend the Covid-era subsidies for three years and the Republican plan to replace them with expanded health savings accounts failed in 51-48 votes, short of the 60 needed to advance. Four Republicans crossed party lines to support the Democratic bill, while Sen. Rand Paul was the lone Republican to oppose his party’s proposal. “Our bill is the last train leaving the station,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said, as lawmakers acknowledged time had nearly run out for a deal before Congress adjourns. If Congress doesn’t act by Jan. 1, the subsidies will revert to pre-pandemic levels, causing average premiums for subsidized ACA enrollees to more than double, while raising annual costs by about $1,000 or more for many families. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that 1 to 2 million people could lose coverage next year. (Politico / New York Times / ABC News / Washington Post / Axios / The Guardian / NBC News / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press)

2/ More than 250 people in South Carolina have been quarantined due to a measles outbreak. State health officials said 27 new cases were confirmed in four days, bringing the outbreak total to 111 cases over roughly two months, with exposures reported at nine elementary, middle, and high schools. At least 254 people are currently quarantined, some for a second 21-day period, and most new infections were traced to the Way of Truth Church in Inman or to close household contacts. State epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell said, “We are faced with ongoing transmission that we anticipate will go on for many more weeks,” pointing to vaccination coverage below levels needed to stop spread. Nationally, the CDC has recorded nearly 2,000 measles cases and 47 outbreaks in 2025, compared with 16 last year. Measles was declared eliminated in the U.S. in 2000, but vaccination rates that have fallen below the roughly 95% level needed to prevent sustained transmission. (Associated Press / The Guardian / Washington Post / New York Times / NBC News / Axios)

3/ A federal grand jury – again – refused to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James, the second failure by the Justice Department in recent days to revive a mortgage fraud case tied to her purchase of a Virginia home. In November, a judge dismissed the original indictment, ruling that Lindsey Halligan was unlawfully appointed as U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia and that the government’s reading of the law would let officials “evade the Senate confirmation process indefinitely by stacking successive 120-day appointments.” Prosecutors then returned to a new grand jury after another panel in Norfolk rejected the same charges last week. James has denied wrongdoing and said the case reflects political targeting rather than prosecutable conduct. (ABC News / NBC News / Washington Post / CNN / Associated Press)

4/ A federal judge ordered ICE to immediately release Kilmar Abrego Garcia, saying the government had no lawful basis to keep him detained and had “affirmatively misled the tribunal” about his deportation options. U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis wrote that officials told the court Liberia was the only viable destination because Costa Rica wouldn’t accept him, even though Costa Rica had agreed to receive Abrego Garcia and that he was willing to go there. She said the government offered no documents or witnesses with direct knowledge to support its claim. Xinis also found no final removal order on the record, which she found undercut the government’s rationale for holding him while it pursued third-country deportation. The Department of Homeland Security attacked the decision as “naked judicial activism” and said it would keep fighting the ruling in court. (Associated Press / Washington Post / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CBS News / CNN / Axios)

5/ Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem defended the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing as Democrats accused her of misconduct and demanded she resign. Noem said the administration had “sent a strong message to criminal illegal aliens that we will find you, we will arrest you, and we will deport you,” rejecting Democratic claims that DHS and ICE violated civil rights or due process, even as lawmakers cited cases involving U.S. citizens and a deported Marine. Noem took questions for about two hours before leaving the hearing midstream to attend a FEMA Review Council meeting. Democrats said her departure cut off answers on oversight and alleged misuse of funds. Ranking member Bennie Thompson told her to resign rather than “wasting your time and ours with more corruption, lies and lawlessness.” (Politico / New York Times / Washington Post / Axios)

6/ The Trump administration said it would keep the oil from a seized tanker taken off Venezuela’s coast, describing the vessel as a sanctioned ship tied to black-market oil networks. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the tanker was in a federal forfeiture process and that “the United States does intend to seize the oil,” while offering no public evidence beyond prior sanctions listings. Venezuela’s government called the seizure “blatant theft.” (NBC News / Axios / Associated Press / CNBC / Associated Press)

7/ Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said federal jobs reports were likely overstating hiring by about 60,000 jobs a month since April, implying the economy may actually be losing about 20,000 jobs a month and that payroll growth “may actually be negative.” He said that risk helped drive the Fed’s decision to cut interest rates by a quarter point for a third straight meeting, despite official data showing unemployment at 4.4% and a reported gain of 119,000 jobs in September. Powell pointed to structural problems in how the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates jobs at new and closing firms, along with weaker survey responses and agency delays, saying, “We think there’s an overstatement in these numbers.” The warning follows a BLS benchmark revision showing payroll growth was overstated by 911,000 jobs over the 12 months through March 2025. (Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg / CNBC / Associated Press / Wall Street Journal / Bloomberg)

poll/ 31% of Americans approve of how Trump is handling the economy – down from 40% in March. Approval of Trump’s handling of immigration dropped 38%, down about 10 points since March, while 50% approved of his handling of border security. Overall, 36% approve of Trump’s job performance as president. (AP-NORC)

poll/ 46% of U.S. voters 50 and older say they plan to vote for the Republican in their congressional district, compared with 38% who say they will vote Democratic. Among voters under 50, 42% say they would back Democrats and 31% say they would support Republicans. Overall, 40% of voters favor Democrats on a generic congressional ballot, while 39% favor Republicans. The poll also found 60% of voters 50 and older strongly agree they would regret not voting in the midterms, compared with 40% of younger voters. (Reuters)

⏭️ Notably Next: The 2026 midterms are in 327 days.

Five years ago today: Day 1422: "The dam vaccines."
Six years ago today: Day 1056: Scum.
Seven years ago today: Day 691: This wall thing.
Eight years ago today: Day 326: Heard.