MORNING REPORT

Friday, December 26 | By Jared Gans

View Online | Sign up

Listen and Subscribe:

In today's issue:

▪ Trump asserts executive power

▪ Health care deal possible

▪ Trump orders strikes on ISIS in Nigeria

▪ Texas, Florida target Muslim civil rights group

How Trump tested executive power in 2025

President Trump has pushed to expand the power of the chief executive to new heights throughout 2025, setting up legal battles carrying into next year.

Trump has pushed to consolidate executive power in both precedented and unprecedented ways, often turning to executive orders and executive actions to follow through on his campaign pledges. But his efforts have had varying levels of success, sometimes because of court orders and sometimes because of the administration's own decision-making.

Here are the major ways Trump has tested his own power this year:

National Guard deployments

Trump isn't the first president to turn to the National Guard in the interest of trying to maintain order.

Former Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy both federalized the guard to enforce desegregation in Southern states in the 1950s and 1960s, while former President George H.W. Bush invoked the guard at the California governor's request to handle riots following the Rodney King verdict.

But Trump has taken this power much further, sending the guard in to several Democratic-led cities to protect federal property and personnel amid protests against the activities of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) has cited a provision of Title 10 that allows the president to federalize the National Guard in three circumstances — an invasion, a rebellion or an inability to execute the law with regular forces.

But the Supreme Court gave Trump a major defeat Tuesday when it ruled that the administration may not deploy troops into Chicago for now, saying officials haven't identified a "source of authority" allowing the military to execute laws in Illinois.

The battle isn't over, but the ruling is a blow to Trump's efforts to deploy the guard in Chicago and other cities like Los Angeles, Portland, Ore., and Washington, D.C.

▪ The Hill: Pentagon deploying troops into New Orleans.

Wide-ranging tariffs

Tariffs have been a hallmark of the president's economic and trade policies, arguing they're necessary to level the playing field with other countries taking advantage of the U.S.

Tariffs historically were levied by Congress, but Trump has turned to the 1977 International Emergency Economic Powers Act to argue broad authority to issue them himself. The law allows presidents to "regulate" imports to address certain national emergencies, but it hadn't been used to levy tariffs until Trump.

The DOJ has also argued judges have no authority to second-guess the president's findings of an emergency. But the Supreme Court gave a cool reception to the administration's arguments when it heard the case last month, including two of Trump's own appointees.

The implications of the case are critical, as a ruling in Trump's favor would mark a vast expansion of presidential power. Businesses and consumers who are adapting to the policies also hang in the balance.

▪ The Hill: Trump credits tariffs for robust economy.

Unilateral agency and organization changes

Trump has also sought to take greater ownership of the many federal agencies of the executive branch, trying to rebrand, reorganize or shutter different offices.

He launched the Department of Government Efficiency to help reduce the size of the federal government and federal workforce. The department, led by Elon Musk for much of the year, oversaw thousands of layoffs across the federal government, though some have been hired back.

Past administrations like former President Clinton's have pushed to shrink the size of the government before, but the layoffs by far have been the most significant seen yet.

Trump has also accordingly sought to eliminate the agencies where many of the workers served. He shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development in one of the most high-profile moves.

He backed off calls to eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Department of Education but has sought to dramatically reduce their scope. And the administration has put Trump's own personal brand on certain departments; the U.S. Institute of Peace and the Kennedy Center were both renamed after him.

▪ The Hill: Trump's renaming spree draws legal scrutiny.

Firing independent agency heads

Trump has pushed to mold much of the executive branch in his image, also targeting the heads of agencies who have been historically seen as independent of the president.

He fired more than a dozen inspectors general within days of returning to office in January. Since then, he's tried to oust officials at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and Federal Reserve.

All of these instances have bombarded the Supreme Court with cases litigating the independence of these agencies and the president's oversight of them.

The high court has generally signaled at least some openness to Trump's moves, allowing the firings of the MSPB and CPSC members to stand while legal challenges play out. It also hinted at possibly upholding his firing of an FTC commissioner, potentially signaling it may overturn a 90-year precedent protecting certain independent agency leaders.

The court will next month hear a case on Trump's firing of Fed board member Lisa Cook, who has been allowed to stay in her role for now.

3 Things to Know Today

The Kennedy Center's annual Christmas Eve jazz concert was canceled Wednesday after Chuck Redd, who's hosted the holiday "Jazz Jams" since 2006, declined to perform to protest Trump adding his name to the building.
President Trump posted a Christmas message that boasted about his accomplishments and knocked "the Radical Left Scum that is doing everything possible to destroy our Country, but are failing badly."
Jimmy Kimmel delivered this year's "Alternative Christmas Message" to a British audience and said that "from a fascism perspective, this has been a really great year. Tyranny is booming over here."

LEADING THE DAY

HEALTH CARE DEAL? A key Republican negotiator on health care is optimistic that a deal to extend the expiring health subsidies could come together, though hurdles remain.

The Hill's Alexander Bolton reports Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), the chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, said he believes an "outline of a deal" has been reached. He said the deal would include an extension of the enhanced ObamaCare tax credits and the creation of health savings accounts that enrollees could choose from.

"Now that's high-level because details we've got to work out," Cassidy said. "I do think there's potential for a deal there."

The subsidies are set to expire after Wednesday, the last day of the year, sending premiums up for more than 20 million Americans as Congress failed to reach any agreement before lawmakers went home for the holidays during the last two weeks of the year. But if they can reach a deal soon after returning in January, the effects could potentially be avoided for those impacted by the spikes.

A vote will happen in the House next month after a few Republicans joined with Democrats to sign a discharge petition forcing a vote on a three-year extension. That's unlikely to ultimately become law with Republican opposition in the Senate, but members have expressed hope that it could be a starting point to reach a bipartisan deal.

"I think a straight-up extension is a waste of money," Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said before the recess. "But if there are reforms and both sides sit down and agree on what that looks like and then there's a transition that gives people the option of putting money into a [health savings account] … then there could be a path forward."

▪ CNBC: Who the subsidies lapse will hurt the most.

US STRIKES ISIS ON CHRISTMAS: The U.S. on Thursday launched a strike against ISIS in Nigeria, Trump announced, citing the targeting of Christians in the region.

"Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!" Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social

U.S. officials released few details about the strike, but said it was conducted with Nigeria's cooperation.

"AFRICOM conducted a strike at the request of Nigerian authorities in Soboto State killing multiple ISIS terrorists. Lethal strikes against ISIS demonstrate the strength of our military and our commitment to eliminating terrorist threats against Americans at home and abroad," U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) said in a statement.

AFRICOM Commander, Gen. Dagvin Anderson, said in a statement that the U.S. military is working with Nigerian and regional partners to increase "counterterrorism cooperation efforts related to on-going violence and threats against innocent lives."

The New York Times, citing a military official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, reported the strike involved more than a dozen Tomahawk cruise missiles fired off a Navy ship in the Gulf of Guinea, hitting insurgents in two ISIS camps.

Trump in November had threatened to make military action if Nigeria didn't take steps to stop violence directed at Christians.

"If the Nigerian Government continues to allow the killing of Christians, the U.S.A. will immediately stop all aid and assistance to Nigeria, and may very well go into that now disgraced country, 'guns-a-blazing,' to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists who are committing these horrible atrocities," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post in November.

On Thursday he wrote that he'd made good on that vow.

"I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was," he wrote. "The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing."

UKRAINE, RUSSIA TRADE BLOWS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he spoke to Trump special envoy Steve Witkoff and the president's son-in-law Jared Kushner on Thursday.

"We discussed certain substantive details of the ongoing work. There are good ideas that can work toward a shared outcome and the lasting peace," Zelensky wrote on social platform X. "Real security, real recovery, and real peace are what all of us need – Ukraine, the United States, Europe, and every partner who helps us. I hope that today's Christmas understandings and the ideas we discussed will prove useful."

The conversation came after Zelensky earlier this week put forward a 20-point peace plan, which represented a slimmed down version of a 28-point plan the U.S. previously discussed with Russia and that was seen as heavily favoring Moscow.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday that Moscow was analyzing the proposal.

Even diplomatic efforts continued through the holiday, fighting also raged on.

ABC News reported that at least seven people were killed and 39 injured after Russia fired 131 drones into Ukraine in the overnight hours before Christmas. Twenty-two of those drones eluded Ukraine's defense systems and struck 15 locations.

"Unfortunately, even on Christmas Eve and Christmas night, the Russian army did not stop its brutal strikes on Ukraine, on the energy sector, on our people," Zelensky wrote on X.

Ukraine, meanwhile, struck several Russia oil and gas facilities with missiles and long-range drones, Reuters reported.

WHEN & WHERE

The president has no public events on his calendar.
The House will convene at 1 p.m. for a pro forma session.
The Senate will meet at 1:30 p.m. for a pro forma

ZOOM IN

TRUMP ENDORSEMENT TEST: The power of the president's endorsement will be tested next year as he weighed in on several House Republican primaries.

Trump rolled out his first endorsements in nonincumbent races for the 2026 election cycle last week, throwing his support behind candidates backed by House Republicans' campaign arm. As the most powerful figure in the GOP, Trump's endorsements will likely be highly influential in any Republican primary.

But The Hill's Julia Manchester reports that Trump's backing will face a test in what's expected to be a tough year for Republicans seeking to hold on to control of the House.

Democrats have built up a steady lead in the generic congressional ballot, according to the Decision Desk HQ polling average, while Trump's approval rating has been underwater for months.

Trump and Republicans do have some reasons for optimism. The president's approval rating has risen somewhat from its second-term low marks last month, while the economy grew at a surprisingly strong 4.3 percent during the third quarter of 2025.

"Whether he endorses you or not, you're going to be tied to the successes and failures of the president and the Republican Congress," one Republican strategist said.

▪ NBC News: Where the national redistricting fight goes in 2026.

ELSEWHERE

GOP TARGETS MUSLIM GROUPS: Republicans in Texas and Florida are targeting Muslim advocacy groups in what civil rights advocates argue is an attempt to paint Islam as a "national security threat," The Hill's Surina Venkat reports.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) have particularly targeted the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), declaring it a foreign terrorist organization. CAIR is the largest Muslim advocacy group in the U.S.

The steps from Abbott and DeSantis are unusual as declaring groups as foreign terrorist organizations is usually left to the State Department.

The governors accused CAIR of trying to spread sharia law and tied it to Hamas, which is considered a terrorist group.

CAIR has denied alleged links to terrorism and has sued both states to reverse the orders.

Advocates argue these measures, along with executive action from Trump, have contributed to a rise in Islamophobic rhetoric and threats against Muslim people and groups.

▪ The Texas Tribune: Texas official says designation doesn't apply to local chapters.

OPINION

I've Been the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees for a Decade. This Is the Crisis I See, Filippo Grandi writes in the New York Times.
All I want for Christmas is for the Democrats to play identity politics the right way, Jos Joseph writes in The Hill.

THE CLOSER

Pope Leo XIV gave his first Christmas sermon since being chosen to take over as pontiff earlier this year, praying for peace and freedom from economic turmoil.

A crowd of 26,000 people gathered to hear the pope speak on Thursday from the Central Loggia of St. Peter's Basilica. The pope emphasized those facing instability in countries like Sudan, South Sudan and Congo while calling for "justice, peace and stability" in Lebanon, Israel, the Palestinian territories and Syria.

He also prayed for the "tormented people" of Ukraine.

"If he would truly enter into the suffering of others and stand in solidarity with the weak and the oppressed, then the world would change," he said, according to The Associated Press.

Pope Leo became the first U.S.-born pope earlier this year after he was chosen to succeed Pope Francis, who died in April.