In the days following last Tuesday’s sweeping Democratic victories, Trump administration officials fanned out across news outlets to highlight the administration’s focus on affordability, assuring Americans that prices have fallen under President Donald Trump. The president himself reiterated his claim—made many times before—that grocery prices are “way down.”

Critics say that overall, prices largely have not come down, and inflation remains around 3%—roughly the same level as when President Trump took office earlier this year.

Last Wednesday, Politico reported that a person close to the White House told the news outlet that “The President hasn’t talked about the cost of living in months.”

And White House deputy chief of staff James Blair told Politico, “You’ll see the president talk a lot about cost of living as we turn … into the new year.”

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But now the White House is insisting the focus has been there all along, and denies any post-election ramp up.

“It’s not something where we called a meeting Wednesday morning after the election and said, ‘We have to get stuff on the board now,’” an unnamed White House source told Politico on Tuesday. “At both a systemic level and more targeted micro examples, we have been consistently focused on addressing affordability.”

Late last week, the Associated Press confirmed the President’s new messaging focus.

“President Donald Trump is adjusting his messaging strategy to win over voters who are worried about the cost of living with plans to emphasize new tax breaks and show progress on fighting inflation,” the AP reported. “The messaging is centered around affordability, and the push comes after inflation emerged as a major vulnerability for Trump and Republicans in Tuesday’s elections, in which voters overwhelmingly said the economy was their biggest concern.”

Politico on Tuesday also noted the increase in messaging.

“In the wake of last week’s bruising off-year elections that underscored just how vulnerable the GOP is heading into 2026, Trump has announced a bevy of policies that may ease the pressure on household budgets.”

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Those include a claim he will send low- and middle-income Americans $2,000 tariff dividend checks, and a deal with pharmaceutical companies to sell popular GLP-1 weight loss drugs at reduced prices.

On Sunday, he also proposed sending Americans money for health savings accounts in what appeared to be an attack on Obamacare and insurance companies.

CNBC reported on Tuesday that economists say some of these ideas “are not likely to become policy anytime soon.”

As prices remain high at grocery store checkouts, President Trump, however, has been pushing back on Americans’ affordability focus, while insisting his job is already done.

Last week, Trump “bragged that the price of Walmart’s pre-assembled Thanksgiving Dinner has been reduced by 25% this year,” a Monday USA Today opinion piece by Chris Brennan noted. Also reduced were the number of items in the meal.

“I don’t want to hear about the affordability,” Trump said on November 6, Brennan noted, as he “defended his administration’s attempts to resist a judge’s order to make full federal food assistance program payments, known as SNAP, to 42 million Americans, during the federal government shutdown.”

One day later, “Trump insisted that the recent focus on ‘affordability’ was a ‘con job’ by Democrats.”

Trump repeated his “con job” claim Monday night on Fox News, along with some other incorrect claims, such as the price of gas.

INGRAHAM: Is affordability a voter perception issue of the economy, or is there more that needs to be done by Republicans?

TRUMP: More than anything else, it’s a con job by the Democrats. Are you ready? Costs are way down. pic.twitter.com/tAPrOZXaTH

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 11, 2025

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Speaker of the House Mike Johnson is refusing to commit to a critical element of the Senate’s bipartisan agreement to end the shutdown and fund the federal government.

Eight members of the Democratic caucus on Sunday voted to advance legislation that included a promise by Senate Republicans to hold a vote on reinstating the Affordable Care Act subsidies. Without the reinstatement, millions of Americans could see their monthly premiums skyrocket, and millions are expected to lose their health insurance.

But when asked if he would hold a vote in the House to uphold the Senate Republicans’ bargain, Johnson refused to commit.

“House Speaker Mike Johnson would not guarantee a vote on Affordable Care Act subsidies, saying the House would need ‘to find a consensus’ on a proposal,” CNN’s Jim Sciutto reported on Monday.

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“We’re going to do in the House what we always do and that is a deliberative process. We’re going to have to find consensus on whatever, whatever the proposal is,” Johnson told CNN’s Manu Raju.

“As you know,” Johnson added, “I do not guarantee the outcome of legislation or dates or deadlines or anything.”

Minutes later, speaking on CNN, Johnson said of any potential vote on Affordable Care Act subsidies, “I’m not committing to it or not committing to it.”

In the most predictable development ever, Mike Johnson is not committing to hold a House vote on ACA subsidies pic.twitter.com/5vmarKed5i

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 10, 2025

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Image via Reuters

Calls are growing within and beyond the Democratic caucus for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to resign, after eight members broke ranks and joined Republicans to reopen the government with a bill that leaves soaring Obamacare subsidies untouched.

U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), one of the most outspoken Senate Democrats, explained the reasoning of some on the left who wanted to hold out for a better deal.

“In response to this claim that the ‘strategy didn’t work.’ The people were on our side. We were building momentum to help save our democracy. We could have won – the premium increase notices were just starting. And giving in now will embolden him,” he wrote, referring to President Donald Trump. “Things will likely get worse.”

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U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) told MSNBC on Monday that the group of eight Senators (seven Democrats and one independent) who voted to fund the government, had kept Minority Leader Schumer apprised of their negotiations with Senate Republicans throughout.

Some critics suggested that Schumer had “quarterbacked” the negotiations, given that several of the eight are retiring and not seeking re-election, or have re-election races several years away. Others said he was “clearly one of the facilitators” of the agreement and had the eight “take the fall.”

There is a Change.org petition with over 45,000 signatures calling for Leader Schumer to step down.

“Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced. If you can’t lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?” wrote U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA).

He also told political commentator and podcaster Krystal Ball on Monday that Schumer “doesn’t get where the base of this party is,” and is “not even willing to fight to make sure that the ACA subsidies don’t increase.”

U.S. Rep. Delia C. Ramirez (D-IL) also called for Schumer to step down.

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“I’ve said it before, and I will say it again. We need courageous leaders that put working families at the center of all they do. 8 democrats caving to empty promises is an indefensible leadership failure For the sake of our country, Schumer needs to resign.”

Michigan State Senate Democratic Majority Whip Mallory McMorrow, a candidate for the U.S. Senate, said, “the old way of doing things is clearly not working. We need new leaders in the Senate.”

Zach Wahls a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate from Iowa wrote that Leader Schumer “has failed to lead this party in one of its most critical moments, and Americans will pay the price. It’s time for him to step down from leadership and make way for a new generation willing to fight for the people instead of the powerful.”

Melanie D’Arrigo, executive director of the Campaign for New York Health, called Schumer’s actions “political cowardice and negligence.”

“You can’t be an opposition leader if you continually bail out the opposition,” she noted.

Calling it called it “Schumer’s surrender,” Lincoln Project founder Steve Schmidt added, “While the government shutdown is finally over, the lack of Democratic leadership from Chuck Schumer led the party to ultimately give in to GOP demands.”

Democratic strategist Max Burns said if U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez  were to mount a challenge for Schumer’s Senate seat, it would be “like one of the biggest no-brainers in recent political memory.”

This is a bad deal, and the old way of doing things is clearly not working.

We need new leaders in the Senate. pic.twitter.com/vzN4uEm8FG

— Mallory McMorrow (@MalloryMcMorrow) November 10, 2025

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