House Democrats threaten to block shutdown deal over expiring Obamacare subsidies

Hakeem Jeffries speaks in Washington DC on Monday.Photograph: Nathan Posner/SOPA Images/Shutterstock

As House Republican leaders prepare to vote on legislation aimed at reopening the U.S. government, top Democrats vowed Tuesday to oppose the measure for failing to include additional healthcare funding.

Democrats have long insisted that any government funding package must extend tax credits for Affordable Care Act health plans, created under President Joe Biden and set to expire at the end of the year—a move that would prevent premiums from rising for millions of Americans.

Republican leaders in Congress, encouraged by President Donald Trump, have refused to include the extension, triggering a standoff that led to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Earlier this week, however, a small group of Senate Democrats joined Republicans to craft a compromise bill that reauthorizes funding through January without extending the healthcare tax credits.

The Senate passed the bill Monday evening, and the House of Representatives is expected to vote on it Wednesday afternoon. The House Rules Committee will review the legislation Tuesday evening before it reaches the floor.

House Democrats have voiced strong opposition. Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called the bill a “partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people.”

“It’s our expectation that the House will vote at some point tomorrow, and House Democrats will strongly oppose any legislation that does not decisively address the Republican healthcare crisis,” Jeffries told CNN Tuesday.

The centrist New Democrat Coalition also announced its opposition. Chair Brad Schneider said, “While New Dems always seek common ground, our coalition remains united in opposition to legislation that sacrifices the wellbeing of the constituents we’re sworn to serve. The Senate-passed bill fails to address our constituents’ top priorities, doing nothing to protect their access to healthcare, lower their costs, or curb the administration’s extreme agenda.”

Progressive Democrats echoed the criticism. Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Greg Casar called the bill “a betrayal of millions of Americans counting on Democrats to fight for them.”

The opposition could make for a tight vote for House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has kept the chamber out of session for more than 50 days to pressure Senate Democrats into accepting GOP demands. With a 219-member majority, Johnson can lose only two votes for passage. Kentucky Representative Thomas Massie is expected to vote no.

Democrats may also see defections. Maine’s Jared Golden, who recently announced he will not seek re-election, was the only Democrat in September to vote for a Republican funding bill that did not extend the tax credits. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington state, representing a similarly pro-Trump district, expressed support for that measure. Both offices have not commented on their plans for the Senate’s compromise bill.

The Senate cleared the compromise Monday with 60 votes, the minimum needed. All Republicans voted for it except Rand Paul of Kentucky, along with eight moderate Democrats: Jeanne Shaheen, Tim Kaine, Dick Durbin, John Fetterman, Maggie Hassan, Catherine Cortez Masto, Jacky Rosen, and Independent Angus King.

Though the group did not secure an immediate extension of the tax credits, they obtained a commitment from Senate Republican leader John Thune to hold a vote by mid-December. It remains uncertain whether enough Republicans will back it, and Speaker Johnson has not agreed to schedule a House vote.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer did not publicly support the bill. Progressive groups that backed his strategy during the shutdown have criticized him for allowing the compromise, with Indivisible and MoveOn calling on him to step aside. MoveOn’s political director Katie Bethell said, “It is time for Senator Schumer to step aside as minority leader to make room for those who are willing to fight fire with fire when the basic needs of working people are on the line.”

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