House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries adhered to a single principle to outflank Speaker Mike Johnson on extending the expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits:

• Don't give an inch to Republican moderates looking for an escape hatch.

Why it matters: Jeffries got everything he wanted. Democrats will get a House vote on a three-year extension of the subsidies without any income caps or cost offsets.

• One senior House Dem told us of leadership's thinking: "We're going to have to negotiate with the Senate, but you don't start from a place of weakness."

Between the lines: Jeffries was pressed by several of his centrist members to throw his support behind discharge petitions introduced by Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), senior Democrats said.

• He held firm. In the end, Republicans — who tried and failed to attach ACA amendments to the bill the House passed tonight — came to Jeffries just as he hoped they would.
• Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Rob Bresnahan (R-Pa.) and Ryan Mackenzie (R-Pa.) all signed on to Jeffries' petition earlier today.

That left some Republicans fuming. "Our team should've put in the compromise. Now we're voting for the worse one. It's just sort of dumb," said Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) of his own party leadership's strategic choices.

• "We should put the best bill forward, now we're putting the worst bill forward. It doesn't make any sense," he added.

Zoom out: The result is a salve to Democrats who have watched their party leadership battered throughout the year by grassroots voters demanding they "fight harder" and "grow a spine."

• Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said Jeffries has been "validated completely" after Democrats started 2025 with "a lot of angst and people wondering if we had the mettle."
• "He held his ground and he won," said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.).

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— Andrew Solender

Go deeper: House passes GOP health bill without subsidies

The prospect of a forced House vote has given new life to bipartisan Senate negotiations on the soon-to-expire health care subsidies for millions of Americans.

• "I think it keeps the conversation live," Sen. Jon Husted (R-Ohio), who has been involved in bipartisan talks, told us.

Why it matters: The Senate has already rejected the language in the House discharge petition. But some key senators are holding out hope for a last-gasp, bipartisan effort to revive the subsidies early next year.

• Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters a House-passed bill would create "a revenue vehicle that we could use for something if there ever is a deal that emerges."
• Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters the "House discharge petition is certainly a boost."

Zoom in: The bipartisan talks have centered on a proposal from Sens. Collins and Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) to extend the subsidies for two years with changes like an income cap on eligibility and a minimum premium payment aimed at fraud.

• Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.) a key Democratic moderate in the talks, told us today she is open to that proposal, "depending on the technical details as it gets written."
• "We have sort of a compromise proposal that we're putting the finishing touches on," Husted said. "But whether there's votes for it or not, I have no idea."

Between the lines: There's lingering debate over limits for abortion funding, and upcoming appropriations deadlines and a possible government shutdown are looming next month.

• Even if there is a deal, there's no guarantee Thune would give it a vote.
• But "any bill that comes out of the Senate will get a vote here," Rep. Fitzpatrick said, even if it requires another discharge petition.

The bottom line: Moreno told us today that there is "no scenario" where the Senate passes a clean extension.

• But he added: "An extension with reforms is possible."

— Stef Kight, Peter Sullivan and Kate Santaliz

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) hinted all week that he was willing to play hardball to get a vote on his aircraft safety bill.

Why it matters: In the end, he passed it without even a vote, via unanimous consent. For a bill that was in search of a legislative vehicle for several weeks, it was a remarkable turnaround.

• Cruz, chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, also included language that would strike Section 373, the controversial provision we told you about earlier this week that the House attached to the National Defense Authorization Act.
• ROTOR – and language to strike Section 373 – now goes to the House as the country approaches the first anniversary of the fatal Jan. 29, 2025 collision between an Army helicopter and an American Airlines flight above the capital.

Between the lines: Cruz also extracted public praise from the Pentagon for his bill.

• "The department supports this legislation," Sean Parnell, a spokesman for the Department of Defense, said in a statement.
• Expect Cruz to use the Pentagon's support to pressure the House to move quickly and accept all of his changes.

P.S. Immediately after ROTOR sailed through the Senate, Jared Isaacman received his confirmation vote to serve as NASA administrator.

— Hans Nichols

Senate Republicans undid a whopping 23 rules and regulations this year put in place at the end of the Biden administration.

Why it matters: That's more rules overturned this year under the Congressional Review Act than in all other years combined since the CRA became law in 1996.

• "Republicans rolled back punishing Biden regulations," Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) said on the floor today. "By reining in Biden's heavy-handed bureaucrats, we are saving Americans $180 billion."

Zoom in: A major CRA move came in May, when Republicans ignored opinions from the Government Accountability Office and Senate parliamentarian in order to repeal California's EV mandate.

— Stef Kight