What happened
A federal judge in Maryland yesterday ordered the immediate release of Kilmar Abrego García from an ICE detention facility in Pennsylvania, ruling that the government was holding the Salvadoran immigrant “without lawful authority.” Abrego García, whose wrongful deportation to a notorious El Salvador prison in March became an early flashpoint in President Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown, was freed shortly before U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis’ 5 p.m. deadline and was home with his family by last night, his lawyers said. 

Who said what
Xinis’ ruling was a “stinging defeat” for Trump, The New York Times said, and the “latest twist” in Abrego García’s “long and byzantine saga” from the El Salvador prison to a jail cell in Tennessee on disputed human smuggling charges, then back to ICE detention after a brief respite at home. Despite that winding path, the reason for his release was “quite simple,” Xinis wrote: The judge who barred his removal to El Salvador in 2019 never issued a “final order for removal.” 

Xinis also criticized the Trump administration’s ongoing threat to deport Abrego García to an African country where he has no ties. Government lawyers “did not just stonewall” the court, she said, but “affirmatively misled” it by falsely claiming Costa Rica had withdrawn its offer to receive him.

What next?
Abrego García’s release does not “end his legal saga,” said NPR. Homeland Security Department spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin, who previously vowed Abrego García would “never go free on American soil,” said the administration would “continue to fight this tooth and nail.” An immigration judge last night issued Abrego García a final removal order, and he was ordered to appear at an ICE office in Baltimore today, The Washington Post said, “leading his lawyers and supporters to worry that he could be detained again.”

What happened
The Senate yesterday failed to pass competing plans to prevent a sharp rise in costs for people who get their health insurance through the Affordable Care Act when subsidies expire at the end of the year. The Democratic proposal to extend the subsidies for three years and a Republican alternative each drew a bare majority of 51 votes, but 60 votes were needed to advance under the Senate’s filibuster rule. A handful of Republicans voted for both plans.

Who said what
The dueling votes marked an “unceremonious end to a monthslong effort by Democrats” to extend the subsidies while Republicans “struggled to find an alternative,” The Associated Press said. Senate Republicans “eventually settled on” funneling up to $1,500 into health savings accounts for ACA customers who opt for a “lower-cost, higher deductible bronze or catastrophic health insurance plan.” That money could be spent on out-of-pocket health care expenses but not premiums. 

The “stakes for American families are considerable,” but the “political stakes are also vast,” Politico said. For many Republicans, “the pressure posed by the subsidy cliff is rivaled by the anxiety they are feeling about the approaching midterms,” but “that sense of panic has not trickled up to Republican leaders, who appear ready to send lawmakers home next week until Jan. 6.” After “today’s vote,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said, “the American health care crisis is 100% on their shoulders.” 

What next?
Hope is “fading for any deal to extend the subsidies before the end of the year, if at all,” The Wall Street Journal said. The “next major legislative deadline is Jan. 30, when lawmakers need to pass a new bill funding the government.”