As you will read in this newsletter, federal policymakers are sprinting to finish the year as we started, with a round of executive orders, Senate efforts to confirm Trump’s nominees and a discussion about tariffs and government spending. Congress operates best under threat of a deadline, and the end of the year is an annual backstop that forces action. While the post-shutdown fiscal year shifted to January 30^th, there are still plenty of expiring authorizations to keep the halls of Congress buzzing with more than holiday receptions. One of the biggest hurdles is the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), a bill Congress has managed to pass annually since its inception. Because it is one of the few bills Congress completes annually, the NDAA has itself become a Christmas tree and carries lots of non-defense issues with it. This year’s bill clocks in at over 3,000 pages and $901 billion. A second major bill is over the soon expiring ACA healthcare subsidies that were the reason Democratic members held up the appropriations process back in October. Those subsidies expire on December 31^st and there are now Republican proposals, Democratic proposals and even some bipartisan proposals to extend all or parts of them, however the bar for passage remains high. Your NAW team continues to monitor multiple opportunities and threats and honestly can’t wait until Congress goes home for the holidays.

North American Leaders Meet on Trade Ahead of 2026 USMCA Renegotiation