Jack Smith, the former special counsel for the Justice Department, is scheduled to have a private interview with House Republicans on Wednesday. This meeting follows the rejection of his proposal to provide public testimony regarding his investigations into former President Donald Trump.

The closed-door session is a component of an ongoing probe by the House Judiciary Committee, led by Republicans, into the Justice Department’s criminal investigations of Trump during President Biden’s tenure. Earlier this month, Smith was issued a subpoena requiring him to supply testimony and documents. Despite having previously volunteered to speak publicly before the committee over a month ago, his legal team confirmed he would comply with the congressional request.

In related news, Trump has announced he will address the nation on Wednesday evening. Through a post on his social media platform, he revealed plans to speak live from the White House at 9 p.m. EST. According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, the president intends to outline his achievements from the first year of his second term and share his agenda for the next three years.

Meanwhile, the White House found itself in a situation of damage control after Susie Wiles, Trump’s influential yet low-profile chief of staff, criticized Attorney General Pam Bondi’s management of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Wiles also shared candid opinions about her boss and others within his circle in an interview featured in Vanity Fair on Tuesday.

Stay tuned for further updates.

House Speaker rebuffs efforts to extend health care subsidies, pushing ahead with GOP plan

House Republican leaders are determined to push ahead with a GOP health care bill that excludes efforts to address the soaring monthly premiums millions of Americans will soon endure as pandemic-era tax credits for people who buy insurance through the Affordable Care Act expire at year’s end.

Speaker Mike Johnson had discussed the prospect of allowing more politically vulnerable GOP lawmakers a chance to vote on their amendment that would temporarily extend pandemic-era subsidies for ACA coverage. But after days of private talks, leadership sided with the more conservative wing of the conference, which has assailed the subsidies as propping up a failed ACA marketplace.

The maneuvering surrounding the health care vote all but guarantees that many Americans will see substantially higher insurance costs in 2026. In the Senate, a bipartisan group was still trying to come up with a compromise to extend the subsidies, which fueled this year’s government shutdown. But senators made clear that any potential legislation would likely wait until January, after the holiday break.

▶ Read more about the GOP’s plan

Venezuela to denounce Trump at the United Nations

Trump has said for weeks said that the U.S. will move its military pressure campaign beyond the water and start strikes on land. His announcement Tuesday night he’s ordering a naval blockade of all “sanctioned oil tankers” is ramping up pressure on Venezuela’s authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro.

Trump accused Venezuela of using oil to fund drug trafficking and other crimes and vowed to continue military pressure. “It will only get bigger, and the shock to them will be like nothing they have ever seen before — Until such time as they return to the United States of America all of the Oil, Land, and other Assets that they previously stole from us.”

“On his social media, he assumes that Venezuela’s oil, land, and mineral wealth are his property,” Venezuela’s government responded in a statement. “Consequently, he demands that Venezuela immediately hand over all its riches. The President of the United States intends to impose, in an utterly irrational manner, a supposed naval blockade on Venezuela with the aim of stealing the wealth that belongs to our nation.”

Congress is divided over supporting or challenging the U.S. military strikes on boats in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific that have killed at least 95 people.

▶ Read more about the blockade

Jack Smith set for private interview with lawmakers about Trump investigations

Former Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith is set for a closed-door interview with House Republicans on Wednesday after lawmakers rebuffed his offer to testify publicly about his investigations into President Trump.

The private deposition is part of an ongoing investigation by the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee into the Justice Department’s criminal inquiries of Trump during the Biden administration. Smith was subpoenaed earlier this month to provide both testimony and documents, and his lawyers indicated that he would cooperate with the congressional demand despite having volunteered more than a month earlier to answer questions publicly before the committee.

Smith is expected to discuss both of his investigations of Trump but will not answer questions that call for grand jury materials, which are restricted by law, according to a person familiar with the investigation who insisted on anonymity to discuss the interview. He is also expected to correct what he regards as mischaracterizations from Republicans about his work, including about his team’s use of cellphone records belonging to certain GOP lawmakers, the person said.

▶ Read more about the closed-door interview

Warner Bros asks investors to reject takeover bid from Paramount Skydance

Warner Bros. urged its shareholders Wednesday to reject a hostile takeover bid from Paramount Skydance, saying that a rival bid from Netflix will be better for customers.

Paramount is offering $30 per Warner share to Netflix’s $27.75. Paramount seeks control of the entire company — including cable stalwarts CNN and Discovery — while the Netflix bid, if approved by regulators and shareholders, will close only after Warner completes its previously announced separation of its cable operations.

In its appeal to shareholders, Paramount noted its offer also contains more cash than Netflix’s bid — $18 billion more — and argued that it’s more likely to pass scrutiny from the Trump administration, a big concern given his habit of injecting himself in American business decisions.

Paramount is run by David Ellison, the son of Oracle CEO and close Trump ally Larry Ellison. A private equity firm owned by Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, is no longer backing the Paramount deal, the firm confirmed Tuesday.

Trump will go to Delaware for the dignified transfer of the 2 National Guard members killed in Syria

President Donald Trump is going to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware for a dignified transfer for the two Iowa National Guard members killed in an attack in the Syrian desert.

Trump will travel to Delaware on Wednesday. The ritual at Dover Air Force Base honors U.S. service members killed in action and is one of the most solemn duties undertaken by the commander in chief. Trump has called it “the toughest thing” he has to do as president.