Four moderate House Republicans rebelled against House Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday, joining Democrats to force a vote on extending key Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year.
If approved, the measure will extend enhanced tax credits for customers of Affordable Care Act health insurance plans for three years.
If those subsidies expire as scheduled, the prices of Obamacare premiums that millions of Americans personally pay will skyrocket.
The stunning defections by the quartet 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.
Lacking sufficient Republican support 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 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.
“When leadership blocks action entirely, Congress has a responsibility to act,” Lawler said in a statement after signing the petition. “My priority is ensuring Hudson Valley families aren’t caught in the gridlock.”
The vote on extending the ACA subsidies is critical for vulnerable House Republicans up for reelection in 2026 as the GOP tries to hang on to its razor-thin majority. Lawler on Tuesday said not holding a vote on the subsidies would be “political malpractice.”
If the measure clears the House, it would still need to be approved by the Senate. Last week, the Senate rejected a similar measure that would have extended the subsidies for three years.
“Under this proposal, people making $500k+ per year would continue to be eligible for what were supposed to be temporary COVID-era subsidies,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s spokesperson Ryan Wrasse in a social media post on Wednesday.
Johnson and GOP leadership are pushing a separate health-care 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.
Johnson told “Squawk Box” that GOP caucus members could tackle health insurance costs in early 2026.
“We’re looking at another reconciliation package, for example, in the first quarter of next year, which will have a number of other revisions and reforms to the system, and all of it is geared, again, for reducing premiums, increasing access to care and quality of care,” the speaker said.