House Speaker Mike Johnson (R‑La.) stunned a group of his own members on Tuesday by shutting down any chance of an amendment vote on extending enhanced ObamaCare subsidies — a decision that has left moderate Republicans in tight districts fuming ahead of the 2026 midterms.
“I think it’s idiotic not to have an up‑or-down vote on this issue,” Rep. Mike Lawler (R‑N.Y.) said Tuesday, emerging from a House Republican Conference meeting, according to The Hill. He added: “It is political malpractice.”
Lawler, one of the moderates pushing to extend the expiring subsidies set to lapse Dec. 31, didn’t hold back. “I am pissed for the American people. This is absolute bulls‑‑‑,” he said, capturing the frustration of members worried about the impact on constituents.
At a press conference later, Johnson sought to frame the decision as part of a broader effort to lower health care costs. About a dozen Republicans in competitive districts are “fighting hard to make sure that they reduce costs for all of their constituents,” he said. Johnson added, “Many of them did want to vote on this ObamaCare COVID-era subsidy the Democrats created. We looked for a way to try to allow for that pressure release valve, and it just was not to be.”
Johnson also noted his support for Lawler personally, saying he recently campaigned for him in New York and that Lawler “fights hard for New York, as every Republican in this conference does for their districts.”
Negotiations over a potential amendment reportedly stretched through the weekend. While “everybody was at the table in good faith,” Johnson said, “agreement wasn’t made.” The sticking point: GOP leaders and conservatives insisted any extension of the subsidies be paired with spending cuts, which moderates opposed.
The House Rules Committee is scheduled to meet Tuesday afternoon to set up the GOP health care bill — officially titled the “Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act” — for a Wednesday floor vote. The legislation includes funding for cost-sharing reductions, reforms to pharmacy benefit managers, and expanded access to association health plans, but it does not include a clean extension of ObamaCare subsidies.
Lawler said he will press for an amendment during the Rules Committee hearing, but Johnson expressed confidence Republicans would rally around the underlying bill, arguing it “would reduce costs for all Americans rather than the small percentage of Americans who get health coverage through the Affordable Care Act marketplace.” Watch the clip below:
