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Speaker\u00a0Mike Johnson\u00a0had a ready-made refrain when asked why Republicans weren\u2019t moving to extend federal health care subsidies: their party wanted to help 100% of Americans\u00a0with their costs, not just the 7% of Americans enrolled in Affordable Care Act plans.<\/p>\n
But\u00a0not 100%\u00a0of his conference agreed.<\/p>\n
A\u00a0rare revolt\u00a0from the moderate wing of the party has upended Johnson\u2019s plans.\u00a0Four Republicans\u00a0this week signed onto a Democratic discharge petition that guarantees that the House will vote on extending the ACA subsidies sometime in January, with Republican leaders now powerless to stop it.<\/p>\n
For Democrats, it was vindication of a\u00a0months-long\u00a0strategy, starting with the government shutdown in the fall, that pushed the expiration of the ACA support to the forefront of politics. Republicans from competitive districts most at risk of losing their seats in next year\u2019s midterms felt the political pressure as they heard from constituents about their skyrocketing premiums.<\/p>\n
\u201cNothing has changed with House Republican leadership, but something has changed within their own ranks,\u201d said Rep. Pete Aguilar, chair of the House Democratic Caucus.<\/p>\n
Flanked by his caucus Thursday on the Capitol steps, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries demanded that Johnson allow a vote on the three-year extension of ACA subsidies before lawmakers leave for the holidays: \u201cNot tomorrow. Not next week. Not next year. Today.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johnson refused, saying it will \u201cbe on the floor that first week of January when we return.\u201d<\/p>\n
The impasse left lawmakers with a cliffhanger as they headed home for the holiday break. Republican leaders now face growing pressure to appease centrist members who are threatening to side with Democrats to approve an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies for three years.<\/p>\n
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has to confront the issue as well. Any ACA bill clearing the House would simply push the fight to the Senate, which has already rejected a three-year extension.<\/p>\n
A bipartisan group of senators has been meeting and discussing possible compromise bills that would extend the subsidies but put new limitations on them. But they would not consider anything until January.<\/p>\n
Thune told reporters Thursday that a three-year extension of \u201ca failed program that\u2019s rife with fraud, waste and abuse is not happening.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet Republican leaders in both chambers have not offered a plan that fully addresses members\u2019 concerns about the sharp\u00a0insurance cost increases\u00a0many Americans are expected to face in 2026 and potentially beyond.<\/p>\n
The White House has been engaged in discussions about the healthcare proposals but has largely allowed House Republicans to sort out their internal divisions and coalesce around a plan on their own, according to a senior administration official involved in the talks who was granted anonymity to discuss private discussions.<\/p>\n
House Republicans on Wednesday passed a 100-plus-page health care package centered on long-standing GOP priorities, including expanding coverage options for small businesses and the self-employed. The bill would also rein in pharmacy benefit managers \u2014 middlemen that manage drug costs and process insurance claims.<\/p>\n
Johnson touted the measure as \u201ca bigger and better and more important thing for 100% of Americans, not just 7% of Americans.\u201d But some Republicans who face tough reelection bids remain fixated on the looming spike in ACA costs.<\/p>\n
The holidays provide Johnson with a brief window to try to persuade moderates to abandon the effort. The discharge petition froze once it reached the 218-signature threshold, meaning that while only four Republicans have publicly signed on, more may be willing to support the Democratic bill.<\/p>\n
Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, one of the four Republicans who signed the Democratic petition, said it has \u201cgenerated more conversations\u201d and that \u201chopefully over the next three weeks, we will actually see some changes in some bipartisan efforts that actually can generate a meaningful vote that gets 218 in the House and 60 in the Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think allowing a vote is critically important,\u201d Mackenzie said. \u201cI think everybody should be able to put up their votes on the board, and they should be able to let everybody in the American public see how they voted on these individual issues.\u201d<\/p>\n
For months, Jeffries refused to support a one-year extension of ACA subsidies that a bipartisan group of lawmakers had been pursuing, dismissing it as a \u201cnon-starter\u201d and \u201ca laughable proposition.\u201d<\/p>\n
Instead, he held firm on a three-year extension with no income caps or cost offsets. That strategy paid off, as GOP moderates were forced to move in his direction when Johnson refused to allow any vote on an ACA extension.<\/p>\n
Jeffries has faced criticism this year from progressive members of his caucus and grassroots groups who have urged him to push back more forcefully against Trump and Republicans. But on Thursday, much of the party rallied behind him on the Capitol steps, with several lawmakers praising his approach.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs Leader Jeffries has said all along, this is the only real plan on the table,\u201d said Aguilar.<\/p>\n
Still, while Democrats have secured a vote, insurance costs for millions are set to rise next year, and passage of a three-year ACA subsidies extension remains a long shot even if it does pass the House. Senate Republicans have\u00a0already rejected\u00a0the three-year extension, but some GOP senators who are open to a deal on the subsidies said a House vote could provide momentum.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could have a vehicle \u2014 if we could get Republicans and Democrats behind it \u2014 then we could send it back,\u201d said GOP Sen. Thom Tillis, adding that it \u201cmeans that there\u2019s still a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n
For Democrats, the fight has also allowed them to unify around a message they believe could prove potent on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Republican health care crisis is unacceptable, unconscionable, and un-American,\u201d Jeffries said.<\/p>\n
The decision by four Republicans to break with party leadership and join Democrats is only the latest sign of discontent in the narrowly divided House.<\/p>\n
Johnson has argued that the criticism directed at his leadership \u2014 and lawmakers repeatedly bypassing leadership to force votes \u2014 is inevitable given the slim GOP majority. He said he lacks the advantages of a large majority, where \u201cthe speaker had a long stick that he would administer punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t have that, because we have a small margin,\u201d he said. Of the ACA extensions, Johnson said leadership had \u201ctalked about it at length\u201d with GOP moderates, describing the conversations as \u201csome intense fellowship.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cEverybody\u2019s in good spirits now and everybody understands what\u2019s happening,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Some GOP members, however, don\u2019t appear to share that assessment. There was lingering discontent as lawmakers headed home for the holidays.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know how we did not vote on a good bipartisan extension,\u201d said GOP Rep. Don Bacon, adding that Democrats will use the health care issue \u201clike a sledgehammer\u201d on the campaign trail.<\/p>\n
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., insisted that Republicans are finishing the year \u201cas united as we\u2019ve ever been.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe set out on a course to do big things, not little things, and that means we\u2019re going to have some differences along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
Associated Press reporter Mary Clare Jalonick and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
#Republican #leaders #powerless #stop #January #vote #healthcare #moderates #defect #ACA #subsidies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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