Four House Republicans force vote on ACA subsidies, bucking GOP leadership [View all]
Source: CNBC
Published Wed, Dec 17 2025 9:44 AM EST Updated 8 Min Ago
Four moderate House Republicans rebelled against House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday, joining Democrats to force a vote on extending key Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year. If approved, the measure will extend ACA tax credits for three years.
If those subsidies expire as scheduled, the prices of Obamacare health insurance premiums that millions of Americans personally pay will skyrocket. The stunning defections by the quarter of Republicans came a day after Johnson, R-La., said that GOP leaders would not allow a vote under normal procedures on keeping the enhanced ACA tax credits alive into 2026. Johnson earlier Wednesday morning urged GOP caucus members not to join Democrats in the procedural end-run around him.
In the face of a lack of significant efforts by congressional Republicans to extend the credits, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., in November created a so-called discharge petition, which would force a vote on such an extension once it obtained signatures from 218 House members. Democrats only have 214 members, so they needed four Republicans for that measure to work.
Johnson on Wednesday was asked about the discharge petition on CNBC’s “Squawk Box.” He said that “doing an end-run around the majority party, the speaker or the regular process is not the best way to make law.” But about two hours later, four moderate Republicans signed the petition: Brian Fitzpatrick, Rob Bresnahan and Ryan Mackenzie, all of Pennsylvania; and Mike Lawler of New York signed the petition.
Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/17/johnson-aca-republicans-health.html
Article updated.
Original article -
Four moderate House Republicans rebelled against House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday to force a vote on extending key ACA subsidies set to expire at the end of the year.
Johnson earlier Wednesday urged his fellow Republicans not to join Democrats in a last-ditch effort to extend key Affordable Care Act tax credits that are due to expire at the end of the year. Johnson told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that “doing an end-run around the majority party, the Speaker or the regular process is not the best way to make law.”
The comment came a day after the speaker blocked moderate Republicans from getting a vote on extending the life of enhanced ACA subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of December. Obamacare health insurance premiums for millions of Americans will sharply rise if the tax credits expire.
Johnson and GOP leadership are pushing a separate healthcare bill that would not extend the enhanced subsidies. The House will vote on that bill, which would provide cost-sharing aid for consumers, on Wednesday.
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