On the third day of the government shutdown, The Daily Beast reports that aides to President Donald Trump are secretly panicking over the expiration of healthcare subsidies, saying the backlash could "severely damage" the Republican party in the impending 2026 midterm elections.
Trump officials have admitted in The Wall Street Journal that the president's strategy in blaming the Democrats for the shutdown may backfire, especially when "potentially millions of people, facing rising healthcare costs, could point the finger solely at the ruling party," says The Daily Beast.
"The 79-year-old’s advisers are also panicking as voters struggle with rising inflation and a dire job market," reports The Daily Beast, which adds that they also "fear the public will see Trump as bringing further financial hardship by allowing subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, to lapse."
For many years, the Republican Party has opposed and sought to repeal and replace the ACA due to ideological objections to government involvement in healthcare, concerns about costs and a belief that alternatives would be more effective.
"The White House is so wary of the fallout that Trump aides are discussing proposals to extend Obamacare subsidies," The Daily Beast says, despite the fact that it is so reviled by Republicans.
Republicans are panicking over midterm messaging, especially when it comes to healthcare. They are currently in a standstill with Democrats, who say they will only come to the table if Republicans guarantee that subsidies for low-income health insurance will not expire, and that Trump’s proposed Medicaid cuts outlined in his “big, beautiful” spending bill are removed, reports The Daily Beast.
The GOP, however, has said it will not negotiate until the government reopens despite the fact that data shows Republican voters will be hardest hit if the subsidies are not renewed.
If healthcare subsidies expire at the end of the year, more than 22 million people could see their Obamacare premiums more than double from $888 a year to $1,904, according to analysis by the nonpartisan Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF), reports The Daily Beast.
“Even though none of us were supportive of the ACA to begin with, we can’t walk away from the people that have had no place else to go to get their healthcare coverage,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD) told The Wall Street Journal.