Donald Trump has once again declared that this is the week he finally reveals his big healthcare plan. Stop me if you have heard this one before. Actually, do not bother, because we have all heard this one before. It is Infratructure Week all over again, except this time the stakes are far higher than concrete, steel, and the occasional bridge photo op. This time it is the health and financial security of millions of Americans and what do we get instead of a real plan? A political smoke machine that never turns off.
Trump and his team teased a major health policy announcement that was supposed to extend Affordable Care Act premium subsidies for two years with new conservative flavoured restrictions including an income cap and a required minimum premium. Politico reported on the details and the immediate meltdown that followed in Congress in this piece: Trump was going to roll out a health care plan. Then Republicans weighed in. - POLITICO.
The idea was apparently to look bold and decisive. What actually happened was that Republicans in Congress were blindsided and very unimpressed. The White House schedule did not include this supposed giant announcement and by the time the press asked for clarification the administration was already backing away. The press secretary essentially shrugged and suggested that reporters should not assume the administration knows what the administration is talking about.
If this feels familiar that is because this is the exact formula that produced the legendary Infrastructure Week saga of Trump’s first term. There was always a promise. There was always a next week. There was always a big plan just around the corner. And there was never a real deliverable. Just vibes and a podium.
This time the stakes are significantly higher. More than twenty million Americans rely on Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire without congressional action. Axios recently described this looming crisis in a detailed breakdown:
The Affordable Care Act's enhanced subsidies look doomed.
So what does the Trump team do as the clock ticks? They toss out a politically radioactive sketch of a policy that they have not vetted with their own party and then act shocked when Republicans revolt. It is governing as performance art. It is a White House that likes the announcement more than the governing that is supposed to follow it. And when you ask for details, you get a word salad and some finger pointing.
To make matters even worse the chaos is not confined to healthcare. Trump’s other big political plays this week have gone about as well as a solo cruise on the Titanic.
Take the revenge prosecutions. Trump’s Justice Department tried to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James for vague supposed crimes that looked suspiciously like political retaliation. A federal judge tossed the cases entirely because the prosecutor who brought them was unlawfully appointed. That story is covered here by The Guardian:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/24/trump-administration-briefing-latest-updates-news?utm_source=chatgpt.com.
Nothing says competence like appointing a prosecutor who does not legally exist.
Then there is the latest foreign policy embarrassment. Trump’s team produced a so called peace plan for Ukraine that read like it was drafted in Moscow after a very long lunch with Vladimir Putin. It restricted the size of Ukraine’s military, blocked Ukraine from joining NATO forever, and required Kyiv to hand over territory. Here is the Washington Post’s coverage of the Zelensky backlash and Trump’s comments:
Trump pushes Zelensky on peace plan seen as favorable to Russia - The Washington Post.
Russia, naturally, loved the plan. Reuters even described the Russian government insisting that any revisions must reflect the spirit and letter of the Trump Putin summit in Alaska: Russia says amended US peace plan must reflect 'spirit and letter' of Trump-Putin summit in Alaska.
This is not strongman diplomacy. This is a tribute band performance of strongman diplomacy.
Put it all together and you get a government that does not govern. A White House that makes announcements instead of policy. An administration that confuses press releases with actual work. Trump is once again showing that he prefers the show to the substance and that the show is pretty flimsy.
Infrastructure Week at least had the decency to be unintentionally funny. Healthcare Week is the same circus but with real consequences for real people. If subsidies lapse millions will face devastating premium spikes. Families will lose coverage. States will scramble. The entire health insurance marketplace will shudder.
And while this is happening Trump is busy failing to prosecute his enemies and failing to stand up to Russia. That is not leadership. It is not strategy. It is barely even politics. It is improvisation fueled by ego and surrounded by people who nod politely until the next announcement arrives.
So yes, this is Déjà Vu. Trump has created another empty theme week. Another shiny object. Another moment of chaos wrapped in the illusion of action. And once again we are all left asking the same question we asked during Infrastructure Week.
Is there a plan?
And once again the answer appears is no - again.
