Watch Live: Trump holds Cabinet meeting amid increasing tensions with Venezuela

The president reiterated his pitch for addressing health care costs, saying he wants money that’s used to subsidize premiums under the Affordable Care Act to go directly to consumers. An extension of the ACA tax credits, which expire at the end of the year, was the central issue in the government shutdown earlier in the fall, and competing plans to address health care costs are expected to take center stage on Capitol Hill later this month.

“Obamacare is a disaster,” Mr. Trump said. “I want the money to go to the people.”

Mr. Trump forecasted that “something’s going to happen” on health care costs, saying “it’s probably not going to be easy because the Democrats, frankly, they don’t want to make a good deal for the people.”

“They just want to make a bad deal for the country, they want to make a bad deal for the Republican Party,” he added.

The president said “the Republican Party is united,” saying again that they want funds to go directly to the people to buy their own health care. He said “we’re negotiating that now with the Democrats.”

Mr. Trump renewed his attacks on Jerome Powell, chair of the Federal Reserve, calling him a “real dope” and “incompetent.”

“We have a guy that’s just a stubborn ox, who probably doesn’t like your favorite president,” the president said.

Mr. Trump frequently targets Powell and the Fed for not moving quickly enough to lower interest rates. He said he will be announcing a new candidate for Fed chair early next year and joked that he talked with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent about the job, “but he doesn’t want it.”

Mr. Trump tapped Powell as chair of the Fed’s Board of Governors in 2018. His term as chair is set to end in May 2026.

The Fed cut its benchmark interest rate in September and October, and its rate-setting committee is set to meet again next week.

The president said the focus on “affordability” is a “fake narrative” driven by Democrats, even though inflation continues to be a top issue for voters. 

“There’s this fake narrative that the Democrats talk about, affordability,” the president said, adding, “The word affordability is a con job by the Democrats.”

“The word affordability is a Democrat scam,” he said.

Mr. Trump kicked off his Cabinet meeting just before 12 p.m. local time. He said it will be the final gathering of his Cabinet for 2025, which he called “a year that will go down as the most consequential and successful first year of any administration.”

“Now we have the hottest country anywhere in the world,” the president said.