GOP lawmakers face 'major internal divides' as they gear up for 2026

U.S. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) attends a press conference with other House Republicans, more than a month into the ongoing U.S. government shutdown on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., November 4, 2025. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon

Republicans in Congress are grappling with "major internal divides" as they attempt to navigate key legislative needs heading into 2026, according to Politico, with the ever-present threat of midterm elections looming over them.

In a new report from Wednesday, Politico detailed the internal strife consuming Republicans over how to address the looming issue of healthcare costs. With subsidies for Affordable Care Act plans set to expire in the new year, voters across the nation are set to see their premiums skyrocket, while Republicans have been unable to fully get behind any particular solution. Many fear that continuing to do nothing will further doom the party in the 2026 midterms, as voters are already deeply concerned about rising prices.

One option being floated is to pass healthcare provisions by way of a reconciliation bill, the same method used to pass Donald Trump's contentious One Big Beautiful Bill over the summer, which would allow the GOP to bypass a filibuster from Democrats.

"Some rank-and-file conservatives in the House and Senate are privately discussing a potential centerpiece for a second reconciliation bill," Politico explained. "Using tariff revenues to send taxpayers cash to address rising health care costs after enhanced Obamacare subsidies expire Dec. 31, according to three people granted anonymity to describe the talks."

Many GOP lawmakers, however, have expressed "skepticism" that the party could unify sufficiently to get through the process of crafting another reconciliation bill, considering that the process for the last one was arduous. "Nearly every... House chair" also expressed doubt about a reconciliation bill to Politico, including Ways and Means Committee chair Rep. Jason Smith of Missouri.

“I don’t see a path of a second reconciliation ever passing,” Smith said.

House Budget Chair Rep. Jodey Arrington of Texas, meanwhile, has been among the senior GOP leadership members pushing for a reconciliation bill, stressing the need to do something of substance to help voters.

“We need to actually follow through on the policies we’ve been popping off about for years that we believe will actually help everybody,” Arrington said. “I feel like there’s a critical mass to start that process.”

Others still argued that many GOP "health initiatives" won't comply with the strict parameters needed in a reconciliation bill. Rep. Mike Lawler, a New York Republican from a district vulnerable in the coming midterms, shot down the idea of such a bill during a recent closed-door meeting, telling House Speaker Mike Johnson that it would "never" happen.

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