Washington, DC

1. Health care plan delayed
2. Trump’s new enemy
3. Ukraine plan revised
4. Trump eyes China trip
5. Venezuela tensions rise
6. Inflation data released
7. Fishback for Florida

PDB: Amazon invests $50B in AI for federal agencies

Trump pardons Thanksgiving turkey … Kohl’s, Best Buy report earnings … Bloomberg: Meta in talks to buy Google AI’s chips

Congress reacts to Trump’s ACA plan

Washington is wondering what to make of President Donald Trump’s purported plan to extend expiring enhanced tax credits for Obamacare for two years. Here’s one way to understand it: Republicans are responding with tepid quiet as the president figures out whether to release the proposal — delayed following pushback from some congressional members, per MS NOW — while Democrats are sounding “encouraged,” as Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., put it. “The White House is at least signaling that they are interested in having a serious conversation about bipartisan action to extend these critical tax credits,” she said of the still-in-flux plan, which would impose an income cap of 700% of the poverty line. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., a leader on the issue, said leaked details amount to a “serious proposal to begin negotiations to prevent health insurance premiums from soaring.” She sees a path forward. It’s not clear whether Republicans do, too.

— Burgess Everett

Trump’s new top foil: Mark Kelly

With the cases against Letitia James and James Comey void, the Trump administration has picked a new enemy: Sen. Mark Kelly. The Arizona Democrat’s appearance in a video discouraging national security members from following illegal orders prompted a Pentagon probe into “serious allegations of misconduct.” The announcement happened to come right before the James and Comey cases were dismissed — and Kelly appears tonight on Trump’s least favorite TV show, Jimmy Kimmel Live. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Kelly is the only Democrat in the video who falls under the Uniform Code of Military Justice and his comments will be “addressed appropriately.” Kelly said he won’t be intimidated and has “given too much to this country to be silenced by bullies.” The politics of this are crystal-clear: Kelly’s stature is only increasing, as a swing-state Democrat willing to take on Trump at the highest of levels.

— Burgess Everett

Ukraine plan is a work in progress

All eyes are on Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after tense negotiations in Geneva resulted in a slimmed-down proposal to end Russia’s war in Ukraine. As the White House pushes for peace, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll on Monday night began talks with the Russians and Ukraine’s military intelligence chief in Abu Dhabi, the Financial Times reported. It came after the US and Ukraine made significant changes to the original 28-point plan, per The Washington Post, including dropping provisions about US-Russia cooperation and Ukraine’s NATO membership. Trump and Zelenskyy are expected to speak soon, though White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said no meeting is planned “at this moment.” The big question is whether Moscow will engage with the less Russia-friendly plan. “The West has entered a pain contest with Vladimir Putin. Who can withstand more pain?” one expert told The New York Times.

Trump strikes positive note on China

Trump is embracing a warm tone toward China. The president announced that he would travel to the country in April and that Chinese leader Xi Jinping would follow that with a US state visit, characterizing the US-China relationship as “extremely strong.” His lack of mention of Taiwan drew attention in Japan; tensions between Tokyo and Beijing have been especially fraught since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested Japan could come to Taiwan’s defense if China attacked. The Chinese government said Xi stressed to Trump the importance of “Taiwan’s return to China.” (Late Monday, Trump called Takaichi; she offered few details of their conversation to reporters, per Reuters.) Meanwhile, the US is still looking for more from China on trade: Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins acknowledged on CNBC that Beijing has only purchased a fraction of the soybeans the US says it committed to buying by next year.

Cartel label heightens Venezuela tensions

Caracas said the Trump administration’s decision to designate the Cartel de los Soles — an amorphous group the US says is helmed by Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro — as a terrorist organization is “ridiculous,” exacerbating tensions between the countries. However, Trump has told advisers he plans to speak with Maduro, Axios reported, suggesting US military action may not be imminent. The cartel designation Monday escalated Washington’s campaign against Caracas by making it a crime to provide money or services to the heads of the Venezuelan state. The US has increased its military presence in the Southern Caribbean, including a visit yesterday by the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff to the region. While the White House maintains the deployment is part of anti drug-smuggling operations, airlines have recently cancelled flights to Venezuela over fears of a potential US strike.

Fed to gain economic insights today

The Federal Reserve will gain more insight into the economy today as its members continue to mull whether to cut interest rates again next month. The longest-ever government shutdown left policymakers without official data as they attempted to navigate fallout from Trump’s trade agenda. But they’ll be able to fill in some of the blanks this morning when the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its September Producer Price Index — one of the last windows into inflation before the Fed meets on Dec. 9. The central bankers will also get key earnings reports, September retail sales, and consumer confidence data. Fed Gov. Christopher Waller, who is in the running to take over as chair, and San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly both said Monday they’ll advocate for cutting interest rates in December — but Waller predicted a “meeting-by-meeting approach” afterward, given the deluge of reports expected later in the month.

— Eleanor Mueller

James Fishback’s pitch for governor

James Fishback, 30, straddles two camps that supported Trump’s reelection — red-pilled financiers and extremely online Gen Z-ers. Now, as a candidate for the GOP gubernatorial primary in Florida, he believes the big ideas and viral messages that propelled Trump and New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani could work for him, as David Weigel and Liz Hoffman report. As he campaigns, Fishback will continue running Azoria Capital, which manages around $40 million and offers an ETF that invests in companies that eschew DEI. He plans to run on platforms like stopping “the H-1B scam,” slowing the buildout of data centers championed by rivals like frontrunner Rep. Byron Donalds, and keeping New Yorkers fleeing Mamdani at bay, with the slogan “Florida is full.” He told David and Liz he’s hoping to be the kind of Republican “Ron DeSantis would vote for.”

Jay Clayton, US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, will join Semafor Business: The Ledger for a timely conversation about how today’s market shifts are reshaping finance and regulation. As the global financial system enters a new era, long-familiar tools like index funds and ETFs have become commoditized, creating space for newer forms of financial engineering. Semafor’s Liz Hoffman will convene leaders from across the industry to examine the innovations that are likely to reshape the landscape, and which may fade over time.

Dec. 2 | New York City | Request Invitation

Blindspot: Terrorism and gambling

Stories that are being largely ignored by either left-leaning or right-leaning outlets, curated with help from our partners at Ground News.

What the Left isn’t reading: President Trump signed an order designating the Muslim Brotherhood a foreign terrorist organization. 

What the Right isn’t reading: Ohio’s Republican Gov. Mike DeWine told the Associated Press that he regrets signing a law legalizing sports betting in the state following betting-related investigations that ensnared pro athletes.

Beltway Newsletters

Punchbowl News: The House Energy and Commerce Committee is planning to unveil a package of 19 bills aimed at protecting minors online ahead of a hearing on Dec. 2.

Playbook: Dan Driscoll’s role in negotiating President Trump’s Ukraine peace plan marks “an unheard-of diplomatic pivot for an Army secretary hitherto focused on military procurement.”

WaPo: “It puts us in a really bad shape when [a censure] becomes a tool to fundraise and to get your name out there,” said Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn.