17 House Republicans Vote To Pass Democrat Obamacare Proposal
17 House Republicans joined Democrats Thursday to pass a three-year extension of COVID-era Obamacare subsidies that Congress allowed to expire at the end of 2025.
The vote, which totaled 230-196, followed a move by nine moderate Republicans who backed a Democratic-led discharge petition to force consideration of the extension over the objections of GOP leaders. The bill passed by the House of Representatives, which is expected to add more than $80 billion to the deficit, is widely considered dead upon arrival in the Senate, where Republicans blocked an identical three-year extension in December.
Some lawmakers have suggested the measure could nevertheless serve as a starting point for a broader compromise, and a bipartisan group of senators is also working on a narrower proposal that could restore the lapsed benefits with additional restrictions. (RELATED: Obamacare stalemate drags on, but health care solution could lower medical costs nationwide)
WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 8: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) (C) arrives for a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on January 8, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
The battle over the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) enhanced subsidies, signed into law in 2021 by Democrats without a single GOP vote, consumed Capitol Hill for months and triggered last fall’s record 43-day government shutdown.
Without an agreement in sight, around 22 million people who benefited from increased subsidies will see their health costs increase. The prospect of rising costs has prompted some moderate House Republicans, such as Rep. Mike Lawler of New York and Reps. Robert Bresnahan, Brian Fitzpatrick and Ryan Mackenzie of Pennsylvania, to join Democrats in forcing Thursday’s vote.
Notably, subsidies were initially limited to households earning between 100% and 400% of the federal poverty level. However, domestic policy laws signed by former President Joe Biden removed the upper-income cap, increased subsidies to cover a higher share of premiums and, in some cases, reduced premiums for some households to zero.
Now, a bipartisan group of senators is drafting a potential deal to restore the enhanced tax credits for two years. Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio, a key negotiator, said Wednesday that the draft legislation could be finalized as soon as next week, according to The Hill.
A major sticking point in both chambers remains the Hyde Amendment, which restricts federal funding for abortion.
Republicans have demanded that Hyde protections be codified into the ACA plans. Democrats say Obamacare already complies by requiring insurers to separate premiums for abortion-related services from other coverage, which abortion supporters have criticized as simply an “accounting gimmick.”
President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged congressional Republicans to show “flexibility” on the issue in order to reach a health care deal, sparking backlash from pro-life groups and conservative Republicans. His comments come despite the signing of an executive order in January reaffirming the Hyde Amendment.
“Extending subsidies without Hyde won’t help Republicans gain ownership on health care,” Gavin Oxley, media relations manager for Americans United for Life, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Instead, it alienates the majority of Americans who object to being forced to fund abortion with their hard-earned tax dollars, risking not only America’s moral conscience but also the substantial cultural ground that the pro-life movement has gained since Dobbs. »
Before the vote, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America also warned Republicans that “the pro-life base must never be taken for granted, especially not in a midterm election year.”
“Any votes to extend COVID-era Obamacare subsidies without Hyde protections will be a deciding factor in SBA Pro-Life America’s political engagement in the 2026 primaries and general election,” the group said in a statement.
Despite Trump’s insistence, there is no indication that House Republicans are willing to compromise on Hyde.
“We’re not going to change the norm that we won’t use public funds for abortion. I’m just not going to allow that to happen,” President Mike Johnson told reporters Wednesday, according to NBC News.
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