Republicans move to expand Obamacare aid, but reject Democrats’ shutdown strategy

FIRST ON FOX: A group of House Republicans is calling on Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to address the expiration of Obamacare subsidies immediately after the government shutdown ends.

Thirteen Republican lawmakers in the House of Representatives, led by Reps. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., and Jen Kiggans, R-Va., are sending a letter to Johnson on Tuesday thanking him for his leadership during the shutdown, but maintaining that Obamacare must also be addressed before the end of the year.

Obamacare, officially called the Affordable Care Act (ACA), has become one of the main flashpoints in the ongoing budget standoff between Republicans and Democrats.

“Every day, the shutdown continues to harm the very people we were elected to serve, including the men and women of our armed forces, the federal law enforcement officers who keep our communities safe, the officers who defend our nation’s borders, and the public servants who provide essential services to veterans, seniors and their families,” the Republicans wrote.

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“We also firmly believe that the debate over government funding is neither the time nor the place to address health care issues. Using the shutdown as leverage to force this debate only prolongs the harm and distracts from the immediate task of reopening government. Once government reopens, however, we should immediately focus on the growing health care affordability crisis and the impending expiration of tax credits for enhanced premiums under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). “

Obamacare subsidies were boosted under the Biden administration in 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, in an effort to make health care more accessible to more Americans. Democrats voted to extend these subsidies through 2025 in 2022 via the Inflation Reduction Act.

Republican Reps. Jen Kiggans and Jeff Van Drew are leading a letter asking the House to discuss extending Obamacare’s enhanced subsidies, but rejecting Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries’ request to include them in the government funding bill. (Alex Wong/Getty Images; Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

Democrats are now pushing to expand these subsidies, using the current government shutdown as leverage to force Republicans to tackle the problem.

Republican leaders in the House and Senate indicated they were willing to discuss the expiration of health care subsidies but rejected pairing them with their bill to fund the government — a short-term extension of fiscal 2025 federal spending levels called a continuing resolution (CR).

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But expanding Obamacare subsidies is likely to spark its own debates among Republicans. Conservatives like the House Freedom Caucus and their allies are skeptical of the move, arguing that improved health care appropriations were responsible for skyrocketing medical care prices.

House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on the 10th day of the federal government shutdown in Washington, October 10, 2025. (Alex Wroblewski/AFP via Getty Images)

But the 13 Republicans who signed the letter say: “Millions of Americans are facing drastic increases in their premiums because of short-sighted Democratic policies. Although we did not create this crisis, we now have both the responsibility and the opportunity to fix it.

“Letting these tax credits expire without a clear path forward would risk real harm to those we represent. Nonetheless, we must chart a conservative path forward that protects the working families in our districts across the country who rely on these credits,” they wrote.

The lawmakers agreed with Republican Party leaders that system reforms were needed “to make these funds more fiscally responsible and ensure they go to Americans who need them most,” but added: “Our Conference and President Trump have made clear that we will not take away health care from the families who depend on it.” This is our opportunity to demonstrate this commitment through action.

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House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Harris, R-Md., ruled out accepting a simple expansion of Obamacare subsidies in comments to reporters Monday.

“You want a clean vote on a program that could cost $400 billion, and you want to do it without any debate, without any negotiation? That’s just madness,” Harris said.

Asked by Fox News Digital if he saw a path to compromise, he replied: “It all depends on what the program is, how it’s paid for, what other health reforms are in it?”

“But these are things you’re not going to negotiate in a few hours. They’re going to take weeks to negotiate,” Harris said.

It’s also unclear when the shutdown will end — while the House passed its CR on September 19, Senate Democrats rejected the bill in the upper chamber 11 times on Monday.