GOP centrists help Dems defy Mike Johnson on ACA in stunning revolt
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Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick testifies at a hearing on Dec. 3. Photo: Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images
A group of House Republican centrists defied House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Wednesday and helped House Democrats secure the 218 signatures needed to force a vote on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits.
Why it matters: It's an extraordinary revolt against GOP leadership that ensures the House will vote on extending the credits for three years.
- That is a boon to Democratic leadership, which has stood firm in its demand for a longer-term extension rather than the one- and two-year proposals put forth by centrist lawmakers in both parties.
- But the proposal is likely to run aground in the Senate, where Republicans have already voted against an identical measure.
What happened: Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.) sent shockwaves through Capitol Hill on Wednesday morning by signing on to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' (D-N.Y.) discharge petition on a "clean" three-year ACA extension.
- He was quickly joined by Reps. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.), Robert Bresnahan (R-Pa.) and Ryan Mackenzie (R-Pa.), bringing the petition to 218 signatures.
- The move means the House will have to vote on the measure, though Republican leadership has seven legislative days to bring it up, meaning they can punt the vote until January.
The latest: A bipartisan group of House and Senate lawmakers met this morning to begin exploring a compromise. The House-passed bill is dead on arrival in the Senate.
- One topic they discussed: Having the Senate amend a House-passed bill with changes more palatable to Republicans.
Zoom out: House GOP moderates had been working for months to find a path forward and crafted bipartisan proposals to extend the ACA subsidies. But the vast majority of House Republicans will never support anything tied to the Affordable Care Act.
- GOP leaders had initially floated a plan late last week to give moderates a floor vote on an ACA subsidy amendment, paired with a broader package of Republican health bills — even though the amendment was expected to fail.
- By Monday, that plan was wobbling. House GOP leadership and conservatives were demanding that the amendment include offsets, which moderates argued would gut the proposal.
- Johnson told reporters Tuesday that they tried to find a "pressure release valve" for the members who wanted a vote on extending the subsidies but, in the end, "there was not an agreement."
All of the moderates' amendments were rejected in a House Rules Committee hearing Tuesday evening.
The intrigue: Coming out of a closed-door conference meeting Tuesday, moderates were livid, and they began openly threatening to sign the Democratic discharge petition.
- "It's idiotic, it's political malpractice," Lawler said of Johnson's refusal to allow a vote.
- Lawler and Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) both acknowledged the Democratic plan, a clean three-year extension of the subsidies, would likely stall in the Senate, where it has already been rejected.
"Our only request was a floor vote on this compromise, so that the American People's voice could be heard on this issue. That request was rejected," Fitzpatrick said.
- "As I've stated many times before, the only policy that is worse than a clean three-year extension without any reforms is a policy of complete expiration without any bridge. Unfortunately, it is House leadership themselves that have forced this outcome," he continued.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting.
