Mike Johnson Shuts Door on Key Health Care Vote, and a Dangerous New Drug Hits U.S. Cities

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Headlines

Podcast: The New York Times
Date: December 17, 2025
Host: Will Jarvis (in for Tracy Mumford)
Episode: Mike Johnson Shuts Door on Key Health Care Vote, and a Dangerous New Drug Hits U.S. Cities

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Overview

This episode of The Headlines delivers a focused look at two major stories: House Speaker Mike Johnson's refusal to extend key Obamacare subsidies and the emergence of a potent new drug, metatomidine, affecting U.S. cities. It also covers escalating Trump administration policies on immigration and Venezuela, and a brief note on Rome’s new subway line with archaeological discoveries.

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1. Mike Johnson Blocks Obamacare Subsidy Vote

Context and Developments

• Main Issue: House Speaker Mike Johnson has declared he will not allow a vote on extending Obamacare subsidies that have kept insurance costs down for millions of Americans.
• Background: Moderate Republicans sought a vote to temporarily stem rising insurance premium costs before a spike in the new year.
• Outcome: Johnson’s decision essentially kills efforts to extend the subsidies before they expire, with the House now considering only a much narrower health care bill.

Key Insights & Reactions

• Political Frustration:
  • “It is the Democrats Unaffordable Care act that broke America's health care system. And this is the system that Democrats in Congress want to extend without any reform. We just can't have that.” — Conservative Political Commentator [00:49]
  • “It's idiotic and it's political malpractice.” — Representative Mike Lawlor (R-NY) [01:52]
• Potential Impact: According to the Congressional Budget Office, about 2 million Americans could become uninsured next year.
• Moderate Republicans’ Concern: The alternative bill, which does not extend subsidies, is considered insufficient, especially with Democrats poised to use healthcare affordability as a major election issue.
  • “To allow these subsidies to expire without even having a vote to me is foolish.” — Conservative Political Commentator [02:12]

Timestamps

• Decision from Speaker Johnson: [01:01 – 01:36]
• CBO ramifications: [01:36 – 01:52]
• Moderate Republican criticism: [01:52 – 02:12]

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2. Trump’s Expanded Travel Restrictions and Immigration Crackdown

Policy Moves

• New Restrictions: President Trump’s administration adds travel bans for 20 more countries (primarily in the Middle East and Africa), affecting even U.S. citizens' family members and legal immigrants.
• Origins: Spurred by a high-profile crime involving an Afghan man, with Trump aiming for a “permanent pause” on migration from all “third world countries”.

Notable Actions

• Green Card & Citizenship Reviews: Government is now scrutinizing green cards and canceling citizenship ceremonies for some immigrants from countries on the travel ban list.
• Scale: U.S. travel restrictions now affect nearly 20% of countries globally.

Venezuela Developments

• Oil Tanker Blockades: The Trump administration announces a “total and complete blockade” of sanctioned Venezuelan oil tankers, part of a wider pressure campaign against president Nicolás Maduro.
• Underlying Motive: While publicly framed as anti-drug trafficking, the real focus is on Venezuela’s vast energy resources.

Economic Update

• Economic Challenges: Unemployment is at a four-year high (4.6%), and wage growth has stalled.
• White House Response: Trump proposes $2,000 checks to families, drawn from tariff revenues—a plan facing skepticism from economists.
• Underlying Issues: Rising rent and more expensive imports due to tariffs are unaddressed by the check proposal.

Timestamps

• Travel bans and immigration crackdown: [02:25 – 04:37]
• Venezuela blockade: [04:38 – 05:42]
• Economic data and relief proposal: [05:43 – 06:06]

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3. The Dangerous Rise of Metatomidine: An Emerging Drug Crisis

Reporter: Jan Hoffman, Addiction Correspondent, The New York Times

What’s Happening

• New Drug Threat: Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood faces a crisis with metatomidine, a veterinary sedative now found laced in fentanyl.
• Source & Spread: Dealers purchase metatomidine cheaply from veterinary suppliers; its presence is now cropping up in other East Coast and Midwest cities.

Harrowing Health Effects

• “Withdrawal begins to set in. What that looks like is that heart rates begin to soar, blood pressure rises dramatically, sometimes helping to bring on brain damage. And people vomit without cessation. They hallucinate, and they need to go into the intensive care unit.” — Jan Hoffman [06:53]
• Health System Strain: Philadelphia’s hospitals are inundated; patients in withdrawal can require 5–7 days in intensive care.

Proactive Public Health Response

• Medical Alerts: Hospitals are issuing warnings and sharing case studies nationwide.
• Preparedness: As the crisis spreads, medical communities in other regions are being cautioned about what’s possibly coming.

Timestamps

• Introduction to the crisis: [06:06 – 06:33]
• Symptoms and hospital burden: [06:53 – 07:43]
• Public health response and spread: [07:43 – 08:20]

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4. Rome’s Subway: Infrastructure Meets Archaeology

• New Line Opens: After ten years, Rome debuts an expanded subway—even as digs uncover ancient wells, baths, and military complexes.
• Urban-Archaeology Fusion: Stations now serve as mini-museums, displaying relics unearthed during construction.
• “If the subway hadn't been built, the buried structures might never have been discovered.” — Will Jarvis (paraphrased) [08:20 – 09:10]

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5. Notable Quotes & Moments

• “It's idiotic and it's political malpractice.” — Rep. Mike Lawlor (R-NY) [01:52]
• “To allow these subsidies to expire without even having a vote to me is foolish.” — Conservative Political Commentator [02:12]
• “Withdrawal... heart rates begin to soar, blood pressure rises dramatically, sometimes helping to bring on brain damage.” — Jan Hoffman [06:53]

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6. Episode Timeline

| Segment | Time | |--------------------------------------------------------------|-----------| | Obamacare subsidy decision & GOP split | 00:49–02:25| | Trump’s expanded travel bans & immigration review | 02:25–04:37| | Venezuela blockade & economic policies | 04:38–06:06| | Emerging drug crisis: metatomidine in Philly | 06:06–08:20| | Rome subway & archaeological finds | 08:20–09:10|

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In summary:
This episode spotlights the deep divisions in Congress over health care access, depicts hardline immigration and foreign policies under the Trump administration, and provides a ground-level look at a harrowing new drug crisis—while offering a brief but rich cultural note on Rome’s fusion of infrastructure and history.

Transcript

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[Will Jarvis]

From the New York Times. It's the Headlines. I'm Will Jarvis in for Tracy Mumford. Today's Wednesday, December 17th. Here's what we're covering.

[Conservative Political Commentator]

It is the Democrats Unaffordable Care act that broke America's health care system. And this is the system that Democrats in Congress want to extend without any reform. We just can't have that.

[Will Jarvis]

On Capitol Hill, House Speaker Mike Johnson says he's officially ruled out a vote to extend Obamacare subsidies that have lowered insurance costs for millions of Americans. The decision essentially kills a last ditch effort by a group of moderate Republicans to take action before health insurance prices spike next month. Johnson originally seemed open to bringing a vote, as some members of his party wanted to show constituents that at the very least they had tried to stop health care premiums from rising.

[Conservative Political Commentator]

We looked for a way to try to allow for that pressure release valve and it just was not to be.

[Will Jarvis]

We worked on it all the way through. Now, though, Johnson said Republicans will instead consider a narrow health care bill that won't extend the Obamacare subsidies. According to the Congressional Budget Office, that could force about 2 million Americans to become uninsured next year as costs climb.

[Conservative Political Commentator]

It's idiotic and it's political malpractice.

[Will Jarvis]

Representative Mike Lawlor of New York and other moderates who'd been pushing for the vote blasted the decision. They said their party's alternative bill doesn't do enough to address rising insurance rates, especially as Democrats plan to make affordability a centerpiece of next year's midterms.

[Conservative Political Commentator]

We need to address the longer term issue of health care costs in this country, but to allow these subsidies to expire without even having a vote to me is foolish.

[Will Jarvis]

In the Senate, meanwhile, a bipartisan group of about 20 lawmakers met this week to try and find a way forward on health care, but they say nothing will happen until January at the earliest. After the subsidies expire, President Trump has announced that he is expanding his travel bans, adding restrictions on people from 20 more countries, mostly in the Middle east and Africa. Earlier this year, Trump put in place bans on travelers from 12 countries. But then an Afghan man who entered the US legally under the Biden administration was charged with killing two National Guard members, and Trump vowed to add more countries to the list. He said he was working to, quote, permanently pause migration from all third world countries. Now, starting January 1st, people from Syria, South Sudan, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso will be barred from entering the US along with people who have documents issued by the Palestinian Authority. Another 15 countries have partial restrictions, and the policy applies even to family members of US Citizens. The Trump administration has now fully or partially limited travel from nearly 20% of countries in the world. It's all part of a White House effort to crack down on legal forms of immigration, and the bans could pose major issues for people who are already in the US earlier this month, federal officials began reviewing green cards held by people from countries on the original travel ban list. They also canceled some citizenship ceremonies for immigrants who'd already been vetted by the government. Now, two other quick updates on the Trump administration. President Trump is continuing to turn up the pressure on the leader of Venezuela, Nicolas Maduro announced, announcing what he called a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going to and from the country. U.S. forces recently seized one ship carrying Venezuelan oil, and a US Official told the Times that the administration has made plans to capture more tankers in the region, a move that could damage Venezuela's fragile economy. While the White House has framed its aggressive stance towards Venezuela as being about stopping drug trafficking, behind the scenes the administration has been focused intently on the country's energy resources. Venezuela has the largest oil reserves in the world, and for years, Trump has talked about ousting Maduro and taking that oil. And tonight, President Trump is set to deliver a prime time speech to the country as the administration tries to tamp down Americans economic anxieties. New jobs data released yesterday showed that the unemployment rate for November20 climbed to 4.6%, the highest in four years, and that wage growth also slowed considerably. The White House brushed off that report, insisting that the overall economy remains strong and pointing to an uptick in private sector and construction jobs. And as polls show that Americans are increasingly skeptical of Trump's economic agenda, the president has been teasing the idea of giving people cash. He's floated a proposal to send $2,000 checks to many families using money from tariff revenue. But that plan would require congressional approval, and economists note the money wouldn't address the underlying reasons that many Americans are struggling, including a housing shortage that's driven up rent and the fact that Trump's Tariffs have made imports more expensive.

[Jan Hoffman]

I've been reporting from the Kensington neighborhood in Philadelphia, which has historically been battered by waves and waves of new drugs that eventually go nationwide. Most recently, they are struggling with a drug called metatomidine, a veterinary sedative that sedates people for many, many hours. But it's the withdrawal symptoms that are truly worrisome and life threatening.

[Will Jarvis]

Jan Hoffman covers addiction for the Times. She says that since last year, a growing number of drug users in Philadelphia have found that the fentanyl they're using has been cut with metatomidine. Drug dealers can buy it cheaply online from veterinary supply companies. And it's so addictive that even a tiny amount of the drug can get people hooked.

[Jan Hoffman]

If they can't find supply to get them going, as soon as they wake up, withdrawal begins to set in. What that looks like is that heart rates begin to soar, blood pressure rises dramatically, sometimes helping to bring on brain damage. And people vomit without cessation. They hallucinate, and they need to go into the intensive care unit. Over the last year, Philadelphia hospitals have been inundated with these patients in severe crisis. Ambulances are screeching across the city. The ICU beds have been taken up with patients in withdrawal. Costs are rising. It can take a patient five to seven days in an intensive care bed before they are stable to be released.

[Will Jarvis]

Jan says that doctors in Philadelphia are on the front lines of a public health crisis that's spreading. They've been issuing alerts, giving lectures and writing case studies to warn other hospitals about what might be coming their way. The drug has started to appear in other cities on the east coast and across the Midwest, and finally. In Rome. Yesterday, the city's newest subway line opened to passengers after more than a decade of construction. The extended transit system is intended to make the nearly 3,000 year old city easier to live in for modern day Romans. But it was also a massive and complex archaeology project. Because the city is built on layers and layers and layers of historic sites and priceless relics, workers excavating the subway had to carefully pick through the ground, sometimes digging by hand. Underneath a new station at the colosseum, archaeologists found 28 ancient wells. And near another stop, they unearthed a vast military complex with barracks and a commander's villa. Now the stops have become part station, part museum. Commuters who aren't late to work can take a few minutes to look at the ancient ruins that are displayed there, including the remains of thermal baths. The city's mayor said that if the subway hadn't been built, the buried structures and hundreds of artifacts might never have been discovered. Those are the headlines today on the Daily the latest on the investigation into the murder of Rob Reiner and a look at the acclaimed director's legacy in Hollywood. You can listen to that in the New York Times app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Will Jarvis. The show will be back tomorrow with Tracy Mumford.

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