Trump puts Mike Johnson in a bind on health care

[BumRushDaShow]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by Omaha Steve (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: Axios

11h


House Speaker Mike Johnson is starting off the new year in a familiar, uncomfortable predicament:

The Louisiana Republican faces a shrinking majority, a loss of control over the legislative agenda, and pressure from President Trump to embrace an issue many in the GOP want to avoid.

Why it matters: Trump is urging Republicans to make health care their issue and to be "flexible" on long-standing red lines. But many Republicans see health care as a losing issue for the party, especially in the 2026 midterms.

Driving the news: Trump told House Republicans at their policy retreat Tuesday that health care has "never been our issue, it should be our issue," urging them to soften demands for expanded Hyde Amendment protections.

The vast majority of House Republicans oppose extending Affordable Care Act tax credits without Hyde protections, which bar the use of federal funds for abortions. It's become a major sticking point in ACA negotiations.

"This is a well settled principle of ours," Johnson said in a press conference in early December. "We do believe in the sanctity of human life and think it's important that tax payer dollars not fund abortion."

But Trump's push to back off the Hyde fight could pressure some Republicans to relent.

Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/politics/government/trump-puts-mike-johnson-in-a-bind-on-health-care/ar-AA1THLHR

[ybbor]

1. They are so pro-life...

They’ll let you go bankrupt, or die, or both, because of lack of health insurance. Just like Jesus would do.

[Ray Bruns]

2. The only person who put Mike Johnson in a bind was Mike Johnson.

All he had to do is extend the subsidies for ACA and this issue would have gone away.

[Vinca]

3. They showed a map on "Morning Joe" showing which states will be hit the hardest by the lack of ACA subsidies.

By and large they are red states. Apparently, when those states rejected Medicaid expansion, the people gravitated to the ACA with subsidies. Now they're back to where they started from: no coverage at all.

[Martin68]

4. Their obsession with abortion is their albatross.

[Omaha Steve]

5. AFTER a review by forum hosts LOCKING

Analysis. Not news.

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