Balance of Power

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.Speaker Mike Johnson will block a push by moderate House Republicans for a vote on renewing expiring Obamacare subsidies, quashing a last-ditch effort to head off a spike in insurance premiums for more than 20 million Americans.The Republican speaker’s decision guarantees enhanced Affordable Care Act premium credits expire at the end of the year. Democrats have made clear the congressional Republicans’ refusal to extend the subsidies will figure prominently in a midterm congressional campaign focusing on the high cost of living.Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with: Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino and Bluestack Strategies Founder Maura Gillespie. Republican Congressman Jason Smith of Missouri, Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. Bloomberg Intelligence Senior Commodities Strategist Mike McGlone. Former California Congresswoman Jane Harman. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.President Volodymyr Zelenskiy signaled that Ukraine could accept security guarantees from the US and Europe as a way to prevent future Russian aggression, and substitute for its long-term goal of joining NATO. Ukraine’s leader met at Germany’s Federal Chancellery in Berlin on Sunday with a US delegation led by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, along with several national security advisers from Europe. Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with: Bloomberg Congressional Reporter Erik Wasson. AEI Nonresident Senior Fellow Heather Conley. Republican Congressman Troy Downing of Nebraska. Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis and Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A potential President Donald Trump presidential order that would reclassify marijuana from Schedule I to Schedule III and the impact it has on equities and ETFs in the marijuana space was a key highlight of Bloomberg Intelligence's Washington Policy Pulse on Dec. 15. The AdvisorShares Pure US Cannabis ETF, tickered MSOS, is up nearly 60% on the news. Yet we caution that Trump doesn't have the unilateral authority to reclassify the drug but rather will have to direct the Department of Justice to restart a lengthy process to do so. We also discussed a forthcoming proposal related to stablecoins as well as our 2026 outlooks for Washington.The Bloomberg Intelligence Financial Policy weekly call is designed to provide investors an opportunity to learn about the most recent relevant policy research, information regarding forthcoming political catalysts and other on-goings within Washington D.C.The call is open to all and is held every Monday at 10:00 a.m. EST. You can register for the call here: https://bloomberg.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN__PqCkwY-S2m3hbQqvVC1_Q#/registrationThis is the final Washington Policy Pulse of 2025. The call will be back on Monday, January 5.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.The seizure of an enormous oil supertanker off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday is just the beginning of a new phase in the Trump administration’s ramped-up pressure campaign against Nicolas Maduro, according to people familiar with the operation. The act of economic statecraft — which saw US forces descend on ropes from a Black Hawk helicopter onto the deck of a sanctioned very-large crude carrier called Skipper — is designed to deny Maduro a lifeline of oil revenue and force him to relinquish power, the people said. Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with: Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall. Bloomberg Economics Senior Geoeconomics Analyst Adam Farrar. Democratic Congressman Jim McGovern of Massachusetts. Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis and Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Watch Joe and Kailey LIVE every day on YouTube: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF.The Senate rejected a pair of partisan measures addressing the impending expiration of Obamacare subsidies, setting up a Jan. 1 spike in health insurance premiums for more than 20 million Americans.With only a few days left before lawmakers leave for their Christmas break and few signs of life in stalled bipartisan negotiations, the failure Thursday of the dueling partisan plans all but guarantees the expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits initiated during the pandemic era.Bloomberg Washington Correspondents Joe Mathieu and Kailey Leinz deliver insight and analysis on the latest headlines from the White House and Capitol Hill, including conversations with influential lawmakers and key figures in politics and policy. On this edition, Joe speaks with: Bloomberg Washington Correspondent Tyler Kendall. Democratic Congressman Brendan Boyle, Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee. Republican Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis of New York. Stonecourt Capital Partner Rick Davis and Harvard Kennedy School's Ash Center Visiting Democracy Fellow Jeanne Sheehan Zaino. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.