Speaker Mike Johnson told the White House in a phone call that most House Republicans have little interest in extending the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced subsidies, sources familiar told CBS News, pumping the breaks on any GOP health care plan.
Johnson delivered the message in a phone call with senior administration officials as President Trump’s advisers were drafting a plan to continue the subsidies for an additional two years. That plan that was expected to emerge this week.
The Wall Street Journal first reported Johnson voicing the lack of support from House Republicans.
House Republican support would be critical for any White House health care plan to pass Congress and become law.
The enhanced subsidies expire at the end of this year, affecting millions who benefit from them. The subsidies were at the heart of the government shutdown funding fight.
Democrats made an extension of the tax credits their central demand to reopen the government, demanding that Republicans negotiate on the issue to secure their votes. But GOP leaders insisted they wouldn’t negotiate until after the shutdown ended. And ultimately, a group of eight Democrats supported a deal to end the shutdown, securing a commitment to vote on the tax credits within a month.