Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama in January 2023 (Creative Commons)
Republican senators are quietly asking President Donald Trump to restore the healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Punchbowl News senior congressional reporter Andrew Desiderio wrote on X Friday that Alabama Republican Sen. Katie Britt joined other GOP members in pressing the president behind closed doors.
"Sen. Katie Britt [and] other GOP senators are privately pushing Trump to get behind a limited short-term Obamacare subsidy extension as a glide path to a larger effort next year, warning that Republicans will lose big in midterms if premiums spike," Desiderio wrote.
Trump, who has long been against Obamacare, has repeatedly said he wants to repeal and replace the ACA. During the 2024 election, Trump said he was developing "concepts of a plan" to address healthcare. A Republican plan has not been announced.
During the COVID-19 crisis, the subsidies were extended until the end of 2025. Now that they are sunsetting, some health insurance premiums are estimated to increase by 26 percent, the Kaiser Family Foundation reported last month.
"Britt and other Republicans have told Trump that failing to address the immediate cliff would also make it impossible for Republicans to negotiate a longer-term plan that mirrors what he’s asked for," Desiderio wrote. "The effort to sway Trump on a two-step process reflects many Republicans’ fears that the mid-December vote[s] [Senate Majority Leader John] Thune (R-S.D.) has promised will turn into doomed-to-fail messaging exercises."
Trump, Desiderio explained, "would provide political cover for vulnerable Republicans" if he endorsed the effort. "It would also save Thune from having to deal with a divided conference," the reporter noted.
Britt chatted with Trump "multiple times this week" over the matter and was slated to meet with him and other members on Thursday, but the meeting was "canceled for unrelated reasons."
“I see the political shop on the Democratic side just churning up all the very sympathetic stories that are gonna result if we don’t come up with a reasonable plan,” warned Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), according to Desiderio.