President Donald Trump defended one of his officials who is receiving criticism over a leaked call he had with a Russian official about the latest peace deal for the war in Ukraine, according to a new report.

During a call on October 14, Trump administration envoy Steve Witkoff told a Russian official that calling Trump would help "smooth over" negotiations concerning the end of the war, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bloomberg News published a transcript of the call on Tuesday.

Experts and some of Trump's sounded the alarm over Witkoff's call on Tuesday. For instance, Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) said the call was a "fiasco and a blemish on our country."

Trump defended Witkoff's call with the Russian official on Tuesday.

“It’s a standard thing,” Trump told the outlet. “That’s what a dealmaker does.”

Trump added that Witkoff made "similar comments" to the Ukrainians, according to the report.

Bloomberg's transcript also includes Witkoff discussing some possible concessions to end the war.

“Now, me to you, I know what it’s going to take to get a peace deal done: Donetsk and maybe a land swap somewhere,” Witkoff told the Russian official, according to the report.

Read the entire report by clicking here.

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's threats against the six Democratic lawmakers who posted the video reminding active troops they must refuse unlawful orders, is already set up to fail, MS NOW's Chris Hayes said on Tuesday evening.

That's because, he said, he has left a paper trail making clear he is pursuing potential court-martials of those lawmakers for illegal reasons — and perhaps none more so than against Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), who posted a defiant image of himself in his uniform saying he would not be bullied.

"Here was the Secretary of Defense literally going after Kelly on social media," said Hayes. "Quote: 'So, Captain Kelly, not only did your sedition video intentionally undercut good order and discipline, but you can't en display your uniform correctly. Your medals are out of order and rows reversed. When/if you're recalled to active duty, I'll start with a uniform inspection."

"While nitpicking, Hegseth failed to note that several of Kelly's medals were for valor in battle, and as Punchbowl News points out, his posts will almost certainly raise questions of so-called unlawful command influence over the military judicial process," said Hayes. "You see, in the military, where you, of course, have to follow orders, right? There are laws against commanders trying to influence criminal proceedings."

In other words, Hayes continued, "Hegseth is picking public fights with Kelly in ways that make clear what the commander-in-chief and Defense Secretary want. That is a clear violation of military law. In fact, it could doom any military case against Kelly in precisely the same way that Trump's DOJ and his handpicked novice prosecutor, Lindsey Halligan, managed to screw up the revenge cases against James Comey and Letitia James."

"What they have tried to do with the criminal justice system, they are now apparently trying to do with the military justice system," said Hayes.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) privately pushed President Donald Trump to stand down from his plan to offer a compromise extending Affordable Care Act subsidies for two years, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday.

Johnson reportedly told Trump that there weren't enough votes for such a proposal in the House. Democrats made the extension of the subsidies their critical issue in the federal government shutdown that dragged on for weeks.

"The warning underscores the hurdles facing any deal in the coming weeks. Lawmakers have a mid-December deadline for healthcare votes promised as a condition for Democrats voting to end the government shutdown earlier this month. The enhanced subsidies expire at the end of the year, affecting more than 20 million people who benefit from the tax credits," said the report. "On Tuesday night, Trump told reporters that he doesn’t support a two-year extension of the subsidies. 'I’d rather not extend them at all,' he said, adding that 'some kind of extension might be necessary to get something done.'"

"The emerging White House plan would extend the subsidies temporarily, while imposing income caps for ACA enrollees to qualify, as well as measures to crack down on healthcare fraud, according to people familiar with the matter," said the report. "Several Republicans want to pair the subsidy wind-down with the creation of health savings accounts, an approach Trump has praised."

Trump's plan was set to be revealed this week, but he punted at the last minute to give himself more time to work on it.

A major sticking point has been abortion, according to the report. The ACA already prohibits federal funding from going to abortion coverage, but states and private insurers can fund that coverage separately if they wish; Republicans want to change the law so even that is illegal under any plan that receives ACA subsidies.

Democrats have signaled that while they are open to income caps and anti-fraud measures, they draw a hard line against abortion restrictions — but many Republicans appear to be just as resolutely against any compromise that doesn't do so.