Mike Johnson Visibly Rattled as ACA Infighting Boils Over: “Bullshit!”

In a blow to House Speaker Mike Johnson, four House Republicans joined with Democrats to force a vote next year on an extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies. Anger is rising in both directions: Rep. Mike Lawler, one of those four, called Johnson’s efforts to block the vote “absolute bullshit!” But allies of President Trump like Rep. Eric Burlison skinned these rebels for having “stabbed the rest of the party in the back”. It’s the worst of both worlds for Republicans: They’re mired in infighting, but despite the efforts of centrists, the subsidies will still expire, leading to political unrest next year. Indeed, Johnson was visibly upset when he cheekily insisted that he had “not lost control.” We spoke to Grace Segers, who writes extensively about Congress and politics as an editor for The New Republic. We discuss the deeper roots of tensions within the Republican Party, how all of this might play out in the medium term, and the deeper human toll that the expiration of subsidies will bring. Listen to this episode here. A transcript is here.