Opening summary
US lawmakers have shared their concerns over escalating tensions between the US and Venezuela after US forces seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
Senator Rand Paul told NewsNation, as reported by the Hill, that the action “sounds a lot like the beginning of a war” and it was not “the job of the American government to go looking for monsters around the world, looking for adversaries and beginning wars”.
The major escalation of Donald Trump’s four-month pressure campaign against the South American country’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro, was described by the Venezuelan government as “an act of international piracy”.
Trump confirmed the operation on Wednesday, saying:
We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela – a large tanker, very large, the largest one ever seized actually.
“It was seized for a very good reason,” the US president added, declining to say who owned the vessel.
Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, posted footage of the seizure on X. She said the tanker had been sanctioned by the US for “multiple years” due to its “involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations”.
Venezuela’s government said in a statement that the seizure “constitutes a blatant theft and an act of international piracy”.
It continued:
Under these circumstances, the true reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela have finally been revealed … It has always been about our natural resources, our oil, our energy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people.
Also speaking to NewsNation, senator Chris Coons said that while he did not know the details of the incident, he was “gravely concerned that [Trump] is sleepwalking us into a war with Venezuela”.
In other developments:
-
Donald Trump launched a new program that will allow wealthy foreign individuals to buy a US “golden visa” for $1m, and trailed a “platinum” version for $5m. “A direct path to Citizenship for all qualified and vetted people. SO EXCITING! Our Great American Companies can finally keep their invaluable Talent,” Trump wrote on Wednesday on social media.
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The US Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it was cutting interest rates by a quarter point for the third time this year, as the embattled central bank appeared split over how best to manage the US economy.
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The US House voted 312-112 to pass a sweeping defense policy bill on Wednesday that authorizes $900bn in military programs, including a pay raise for troops and an overhaul of how the Department of Defense purchases weapons.
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The governor of Washington, Bob Ferguson, declared a statewide emergency on Wednesday in response to heavy rain in the Pacific north-west state since an atmospheric river smacked the region a day earlier with rains that triggered mudslides and washed out roads and submerged vehicles.
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A senior Democratic senator is calling for an investigation into potential insider trading by fossil-fuel billionaires close to the Trump administration, after a Guardian investigation raised questions about an unusual share-buying spree. Robert Pender and Michael Sabel, the founders and co-chairs of Venture Global, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) company headquartered in Virginia, bought more than a million shares worth almost $12m each, just days after meeting with senior Trump officials in March.
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Immigrant students across the US have experienced increased bullying, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) crackdowns causing declines in attendance and a “culture of fear” among immigrant students in public schools, according to a new survey of high school principals. Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles’s Institute for Democracy, Education and Access (Idea) conducted a “nationally representative” survey of more than 600 principals about the toll of raids and deportations, and how schools were responding.
Key events
Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate intelligence committee, questioned how the US was able to seize an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday but “not a drug boat” – referring to the suspected drug-trafficking vessel that was the target of the 2 September double-tap strike.
Warner has been part of the chorus of lawmakers who have called for the full, unedited video of the strike to be released.
Donald Trump is in Washington today. At 4:45pm ET he’ll take part in a signing ceremony in the Oval Office. That’s closed to the press, but we’ll let you know if that opens up.
Then, he’ll deliver remarks at the Congressional ball this evening.
Also today, we’ll hear from press secretary Karoline Leavitt. At 1pm ET, she’ll hold a White House briefing, and we’ll bring you the key lines.
Chris Stein
Ahead of today’s vote on extending Obamacare premium tax credits, Senate Republican leaders have endorsed an alternative bill that would instead give enrollees of high-deductible plans, purchased through the ACA marketplace, payments of up to $1,500 into their health savings accounts.
In the House, Republican speaker Mike Johnson has said he does not support extending the tax credits, but that his party plans to soon introduce their own proposals to make healthcare cheaper.
Johnson’s opposition means that even if the Democratic gambit succeeds in the Senate, it is unlikely to be voted on in the House.
Trump lashes out against Indiana lawmakers ahead of redistricting vote
The Indiana state senate is set to vote on Thursday on efforts to redraw the state’s congressional map ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, the latest state under pressure from the Trump administration to do so with the goal of gaining Republicans more seats in the US House of Representatives.
While efforts in Texas led to the state drawing five additional red districts – which then led to California advancing a now-approved ballot measure to create five more Democrat-friendly districts – the White House pressure campaign hasn’t found willing participants in all GOP-held statehouses. Voters in Missouri are trying to stop their state’s gerrymander with a referendum and some Republican representatives in Kansas have been speaking against the efforts.
Last month, Rodric Bray, the Indiana senate president pro tem, said that he and many others in his caucus did not believe that redistricting was the to gain control of the House.
Donald Trump lashed out at Bray on Truth Social on Wednesday, accusing Bray of enjoying being “the only person in the United States of America who is against Republicans picking up extra seats”. The president said Bray was “either a bad guy, or a very stupid one”.
“Anybody that votes against Redistricting, and the SUCCESS of the Republican Party in D.C., will be, I am sure, met with a MAGA Primary in the Spring,” Trump said. “If Republicans will not do what is necessary to save our Country, they will eventually lose everything to the Democrats.”
He continiued: “Rod Bray and his friends won’t be in Politics for long, and I will do everything within my power to make sure that they will not hurt the Republican Party, and our Country, again.”
DNC launches ads in Republicans’ hometowns ahead of vote on Obamacare subsidies
Chris Stein
As the Senate votes today on a pair of bills to address the looming expiration of premium tax credits for Affordable Care Act health plans, the Democratic National Committee took out ads on the home town newspapers’ websites of Republicans senators who could be crucial to determining the vote.
The subsidies were created under Joe Biden, and premiums for the more than 21.8m enrollees are expected to spike to potentially unaffordable levels if they are not renewed beyond their end-of-the-month expiration.
Democrats have proposed a bill that would extend them through 2028, but will need to receive at least some Republican votes for it to succeed in the Senate. To pressure Maine senator Susan Collins, Ohio senators Jon Husted and Bernie Moreno, Texas senators Ted Cruz and John Cornyn and Alaska senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski, the DNC has taken out ads in their local newspapers reading: “Republicans are doubling healthcare costs”, and encouraging readers to call their offices.
DNC chair Ken Martin called the Senate vote, “the difference between life and death for many Americans.”
“Working families are already struggling to afford the basics, and if they have to shell out hundreds of dollars more for their health care every month, they could be forced to choose between putting food on the table, paying their rent, or going uninsured,” he said.
Senate to vote on dual bills on looming expiration of Obamacare tax credits
Chris Stein
The US Senate will vote Thursday on competing bills to address the imminent expiration of subsidies for Affordable Care Act health insurance plans, but neither measure is expected to pass, greatly increasing the chances that healthcare costs will soon rise to unaffordable levels for many Americans.
The votes, part of a deal brokered between Republican majority leader John Thune and the Democratic senators who agreed to reopen the government after a historically long shutdown last month, come as premium tax credits for an estimated 21.8 million enrollees of the plans are set to expire at the end of the month. Health policy research group KFF estimates that annual premiums will more than double if the subsidies are allowed to expire.
While Democrats have proposed extending them for three years, Republicans are poised to oppose their bill, claiming that the 2010 law, commonly known as Obamacare, has failed at its promise of lowering healthcare costs, and that further tax credits would be untenable.
Read more here:
Chris Van Hollen, the Democratic senator from Maryland, was among the lawmakers speaking out against the Trump administration and its actions around Venezuela, taking to the senate floor on Wednesday to call on Congress to block Donald Trump from “using taxpayer dollars to launch a regime change war”.
“Last time I checked, the constitution of the United States gives Congress – this body – the power to decide questions of war or peace,” he said.
As Trump continues to manufacture a cover story for armed conflict with Venezuela, I’m calling on Congress to block him from using taxpayer dollars to launch a regime change war. Tune in: https://t.co/zlFewzXVeL
— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) December 10, 2025
Maya Yang
The Department of Homeland Security has signed a nearly $140m contract to purchase six Boeing 737 planes for deportation operations.
The contract, signed with the Virginia-based firm Daedalus Aviation, was first reported by the Washington Post on Wednesday and later confirmed by DHS.
In a statement to the Guardian confirming the purchase, DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said: “This new initiative will save $279m in taxpayer dollars by allowing ICE to operate more effectively, including by using more efficient flight patterns.”
She added: “President Trump and Secretary Noem are committed to quickly and efficiently getting criminal illegal aliens OUT of our country.”
Read more here:
Trump plans to appoint US general to lead Gaza security force – report
The Trump administration is planning to appoint an American two-star general to command the international stabilization force (ISF) in Gaza, Axios reports, citing two unnamed US officials and two unnamed Israeli officials.
The UN security council last month approved the creation of the ISF to provide security and stablization for the region for at least two years, which would include securing humanitarian aid corridors and working on the “permanent decommissioning of weapons from non-state armed groups”. The stablization forces comes from Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza, which also includes the disarmament of Hamas, the demilitarization of Gaza and the creation of the board of peace to oversee governance of Gaza and will ultimately be chaired by Trump.
This means that should Trump appoint a US general to head the stabilization force, the US will be in command of not just overseeing the governance of the enclave but also its security force.
Two unnamed Israeli officials told Axios that UN ambassador Mike Waltz told Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, of these plans and stressed that having an American general in charge should give Israel confidence. “Waltz even said he knows the general personally and stressed he is a very serious guy,” one Israeli official said to Axios.
Jeff Merkley, the Democratic senator from Oregon, on Wednesday attempted to pass via unanimous consent a bill prohibiting Donald Trump from taking unauthorized military action in Venezuela.
“As we stand here in this chamber, President Trump is preparing to launch a war, a war on Venezuela – without a declaration of war, without a congressional authorization, without a congressional appropriation of funds,” Merkley said. “So I’ve come to the floor to reassert the constitutional role of Congress over this decision of going to war.”
Senate Republicans blocked the attempt, according to Senate Democrats.
Merkley on Wednesday also called for an investigation into potential insider trading by fossil-fuel billionaires close to the Trump administration, following a Guardian investigation that revealed that Robert Pender, an energy lawyer, and Michael Sabel, a former investment banker, had purcased millions of shares in the company they co-founded just days after a meeting with senior White House officials.
“Dirty oil and gas bucks are fueling the Trump administration, which should outrage all of us. This latest reporting portrays a pattern of pay-to-play donations and favorable actions by the administration,” said Merkley, a senior member of the Senate appropriations and budget committees.
Read more here:
Since Donald Trump’s election, Hasan Piker has become an in-demand voice in “the real world” for his views on the beleaguered political left, and especially that inordinately fretted-over demographic, young men.
In this feature, the Guardian’s Steve Rose speaks to Piker about how he became one of the biggest voices on the US left:
Senate to question military leaders on Trump’s national guard deployments
Senators for the first time are poised to question military leaders over President Donald Trump’s use of the national guard in US cities, an extraordinary move that has prompted legal challenges as well as questions about states’ rights and the use of the military on US soil.
The hearing on Thursday before the Senate armed services committee is expected to feature tough questioning for Pentagon leaders over the legality of the deployments, which in some places were done over the objections of mayors and governors.
The hearing will bring the highest level of scrutiny to Trump’s use of the national guard outside of a courtroom since the deployments began and comes a day after the president faced another legal setback over his muscular use of troops in larger federal operations.
Trump has justified the use of the military in US cities by saying the national guard is needed to support federal law enforcement, protect federal facilities and combat crime.
Democratic senator Tammy Duckworth said she had threatened to hold up the annual defense bill if Republican leadership continued to block the hearing, which she said is long overdue. Duckworth told the AP:
Donald Trump is illegally deploying our nation’s service members under misleading if not false pretexts.
Duckworth, a combat veteran who served in the Illinois national guard, said domestic deployments have traditionally involved responding to major floods and tornadoes, not assisting immigration agents who are detaining people in aggressive raids.
According to the AP, Duckworth said she has questions for the military about how Trump’s deployments are affecting readiness, training and costs. She also wants to know if guard members will have legal protections if an immigration agent wrongfully harms a civilian. Duckworth said:
I’m deeply concerned that our nation’s military is being put in jeopardy by these policies.
The hearing comes two weeks after two West Virginia national guard members deployed to Washington were shot just blocks from the White House in what the city’s mayor described as a targeted attack.
Chris Michael
Tourists to the United States would have to reveal their social media activity from the last five years, under new Trump administration plans.
The mandatory new disclosures would apply to the 42 countries whose nationals are currently permitted to enter the US without a visa, including longtime US allies Britain, France, Australia, Germany and Japan.
In a notice published on Tuesday, the US Customs and Border Protection agency (CBP) said it would also require any telephone numbers used by visitors over the same period, and any email addresses used in the last decade, as well as face, fingerprint, DNA and iris biometrics. It would also ask for the names, addresses, birthdates and birthplaces of family members, including children.
CBP said the new changes to the Electronic System for Travel Authorization (Esta) application were required in order to comply with an executive order issued by Donald Trump on the first day of his new term. In it, the US president called for restrictions to ensure visitors to the US “do not bear hostile attitudes toward its citizens, culture, government, institutions, or founding principles”.
The plan would throw a wrench into travel for the World Cup, which the US is co-hosting with Canada and Mexico next year. Fifa has said it expects to attract 5 million fans to the stadiums, and millions more visitors to the US, Canada and Mexico.
Tourism to the US has already dropped dramatically in Trump’s second term, as the president has pushed a draconian crackdown on immigrants, including recent moves to ban all asylum claims and to stop migration entirely from more than 30 countries.
US House passes bill to bolster Europe’s defence, in apparent rebuke to Trump’s foreign policy strategy
The US House has approved a sweeping defence bill that bolsters Europe’s security, in what appears to be sharp rebuke to Donald Trump’s mounting threats to downgrade Washington’s ties to traditional allies and Nato.
The bipartisan vote came just days after the publication of a White House national security strategy that said Europe faced “civilisational erasure” and made explicit Washington’s support for Europe’s nationalist far-right parties – rattling EU leaders and opening up a seismic shift in transatlantic relations.
By contrast, the House’s $900bn Pentagon is notable for its pro-Europe orientation and its clampdown on Trump’s authority to reduce troop numbers, move equipment or downgrade Nato-linked missions.
The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) – which now advances to the Senate – carries a robust $8bn more than the funding Trump requested in May.
It leans hard into European defence, barring troop levels on the continent from falling below 76,000 for more than 45 days and blocking the removal of major equipment.
House Speaker Mike Johnson said ahead of the vote:
President Trump and congressional Republicans are restoring American strength, defending our homeland, standing with our allies, and ensuring the United States remains the most powerful and capable military force the world has ever known.
In the national security strategy published last week, Trump lambasted Europe as an over-regulated, censorious continent lacking in “self-confidence” and facing “civilisational erasure” due to immigration.
The document openly supported far-right European parties, questioned the continent’s commitment to peace and indicated that its security is no longer a top US priority.
When Pete Hegseth was made Donald Trump’s secretary of war, there was shock and consternation. Since then he has put highly classified plans to bomb Yemen on a group chat and ordered executions of Venezuelans in the sea, reportedly insisting they “kill everybody”, even when the survivors who were seen clinging to a boat could pose no threat.
The former Fox News talkshow host holds one of the most powerful jobs in the world and has come to it with a clear ideology. He wants to bring his “warrior culture” to the US military. Joseph Gedeon, a breaking news reporter for the Guardian US, tells Nosheen Iqbal:
His whole thing is about what he calls the warrior ethos. His whole message is that America fights with one hand tied behind its back because of lawyers, oversight and cultural distractions.
Now strikes on Venezuelans in the Caribbean Sea have led to him being accused of war crimes and a damning report into his handling of classified information has come back. Can he survive? Listen to the latest episode of the Guardian’s Todqay in Focus podcast for a discussion on this:
Opening summary
US lawmakers have shared their concerns over escalating tensions between the US and Venezuela after US forces seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.
Senator Rand Paul told NewsNation, as reported by the Hill, that the action “sounds a lot like the beginning of a war” and it was not “the job of the American government to go looking for monsters around the world, looking for adversaries and beginning wars”.
The major escalation of Donald Trump’s four-month pressure campaign against the South American country’s dictator, Nicolás Maduro, was described by the Venezuelan government as “an act of international piracy”.
Trump confirmed the operation on Wednesday, saying:
We’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela – a large tanker, very large, the largest one ever seized actually.
“It was seized for a very good reason,” the US president added, declining to say who owned the vessel.
Pam Bondi, the US attorney general, posted footage of the seizure on X. She said the tanker had been sanctioned by the US for “multiple years” due to its “involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations”.
Venezuela’s government said in a statement that the seizure “constitutes a blatant theft and an act of international piracy”.
It continued:
Under these circumstances, the true reasons for the prolonged aggression against Venezuela have finally been revealed … It has always been about our natural resources, our oil, our energy, the resources that belong exclusively to the Venezuelan people.
Also speaking to NewsNation, senator Chris Coons said that while he did not know the details of the incident, he was “gravely concerned that [Trump] is sleepwalking us into a war with Venezuela”.
In other developments:
-
Donald Trump launched a new program that will allow wealthy foreign individuals to buy a US “golden visa” for $1m, and trailed a “platinum” version for $5m. “A direct path to Citizenship for all qualified and vetted people. SO EXCITING! Our Great American Companies can finally keep their invaluable Talent,” Trump wrote on Wednesday on social media.
-
The US Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it was cutting interest rates by a quarter point for the third time this year, as the embattled central bank appeared split over how best to manage the US economy.
-
The US House voted 312-112 to pass a sweeping defense policy bill on Wednesday that authorizes $900bn in military programs, including a pay raise for troops and an overhaul of how the Department of Defense purchases weapons.
-
The governor of Washington, Bob Ferguson, declared a statewide emergency on Wednesday in response to heavy rain in the Pacific north-west state since an atmospheric river smacked the region a day earlier with rains that triggered mudslides and washed out roads and submerged vehicles.
-
A senior Democratic senator is calling for an investigation into potential insider trading by fossil-fuel billionaires close to the Trump administration, after a Guardian investigation raised questions about an unusual share-buying spree. Robert Pender and Michael Sabel, the founders and co-chairs of Venture Global, a liquefied natural gas (LNG) company headquartered in Virginia, bought more than a million shares worth almost $12m each, just days after meeting with senior Trump officials in March.
-
Immigrant students across the US have experienced increased bullying, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) crackdowns causing declines in attendance and a “culture of fear” among immigrant students in public schools, according to a new survey of high school principals. Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles’s Institute for Democracy, Education and Access (Idea) conducted a “nationally representative” survey of more than 600 principals about the toll of raids and deportations, and how schools were responding.
