Four Republicans buck Mike Johnson to join Hakeem Jeffries' Obamacare push
The Democrats' bill could get a vote sometime early next year, despite Speaker Johnson's objections
By Elizabeth Elkind Fox News
Published December 17, 2025 11:55am EST
Four moderate House Republicans are rebelling against Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to join his Democratic counterpart in forcing a vote on enhanced Obamacare subsidies set to expire at the end of this year.
Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa., and Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., all joined a discharge petition by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on his push for a three-year extension of the subsidies.
A discharge petition is a mechanism for overriding the will of House leaders to get a chamber-wide vote on specific legislation, provided it has support from a majority of lawmakers.
In this case, the four House Republicans' signatures put Jeffries' petition at 218 — clinching the critical majority threshold.
"I've always supported bipartisan solutions that would bring about healthcare affordability in this country," Mackenzie told Fox News Digital on Wednesday of his decision. "Leader Jeffries and the Democrats have refused to sign onto either of those bipartisan solutions. And so at this point, our leadership is not calling up a bill to extend the [Obamacare] tax credits."
He called for a vote on the Democrat-led solution as well as two bipartisan bills offering one and two-year extensions, respectively, with reforms.
It comes despite Johnson warning Republicans earlier on Wednesday not to support Jeffries' petition, arguing it was not the best way to legislate.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/four-republicans-buck-mike-johnson-join-hakeem-jeffries-obamacare-push
