Congress

Democrats are ready to campaign on expired Obamacare subsidies

Published

2 months ago

January 2, 2026

Obamacare subsidies used by more than 20 million expired Thursday. Now Democrats are ready to make them a centerpiece of their midterm campaigns.

The lapse of enhanced premium tax credits, first passed as a pandemic-era relief measure under President Joe Biden in 2021, will immediately hit the pocketbooks of voters — some of whom will see their monthly insurance premiums rise by hundreds of dollars.

Efforts to extend them in some fashion continue on Capitol Hill, but Democratic lawmakers and strategists are already moving to turn the expiration of the subsidies into a potent election-year attack on congressional Republicans. They note that unlike other Democratic messaging targets — such as recent GOP Medicaid cuts that won’t kick in until after midterm ballots are cast — the lost tax credits are already tangible proof of what’s at stake on Election Day.

“The public now gets that the subsidies are what’s keeping health care costs down,” said Rep. Ami Bera (D-Calif.). “I think the public’s angry. So I think they will blame the party in charge.”

The strategy has been months in the making. Mindful of how the GOP’s efforts to rein in Obamacare powered their massive gains in the 2018 midterms, top party leaders decided in September to make health care the focus of the government funding fight.

That posture led to a record 43-day shutdown, and while some Senate Democrats ultimately agreed to reopen the government without securing an extension of the tax credits, many in the party are increasingly confident they succeeded in putting the issue into focus ahead of the election year.

They also believe it will play into a broader messaging push around affordability — attacking President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans for their failure to address rising costs, of which insurance premiums are just one conspicuous challenge facing Republicans.

“It’s part of the top issue, which is cost of living — whether it’s groceries, gas, housing, energy costs,” said Rep. Chris Deluzio (D-Pa.). “Health care seems to be top of mind as something that Congress can actually do to bring down the costs.”

A KFF poll released in December found that large majorities of enrollees in Obamacare marketplace plans want the subsidies to continue, regardless of party. About three-quarters of that group said they would blame Trump or Republicans in Congress if the subsidies were to lapse.

Republicans have encountered difficulties forming a coherent counterattack. Trump has questioned whether affordability is even a problem, calling the focus on living costs a “hoax” perpetrated by Democrats and the media. He has instead focused on robust economic growth as a measure of his administration’s success.

On Capitol Hill, top GOP leaders have criticized the expiring subsidies as wasteful — subsidizing some high-income households and susceptible to fraud — but they have not coalesced around a plan to offer relief to the millions of Americans who buy insurance on Obamacare marketplaces. A package of health care measures passed by the House last month on a party-line vote included some conservative proposals to deregulate insurance markets, but they would have little immediate effect before the midterms.

Instead, Republicans are preparing to run on last year’s megabill, which included tax cuts and other provisions that will start kicking in this year. This, they believe, will help them hold onto their congressional majorities.

“House Republicans delivered historic tax relief for working families and are building on it in the new year,” said NRCC spokesperson Mike Marinella. “Democrats spent the year blocking commonsense solutions [for the subsidies] and are now having a temper tantrum over a policy cliff of their own making. Their inability to find a consistent message that sticks proves how out of touch they are with the American people.”

Democrats’ party campaign arm is already geared up to push a health-care focused message for the next 10 months. Its leaders have laid out why they believe it’s a key issue heading into the midterms and have already run ads and rented billboards highlighting the GOP’s opposition to continuing the subsidies.

“Make no mistake, the blame behind the skyrocketing health care costs millions are facing today is squarely at the feet of House Republicans, and the American people know it,” DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.) said in a statement. “Instead of putting forth a serious proposal to address spiking health care costs, House Republicans chose to focus on delivering massive tax breaks for the wealthiest few — never even allowing a floor vote to save the tax credits before their expiration.”

It is true no vote took place before the expiration, but jitters about an electoral backlash prompted a handful of House Republicans to take the rare step last month of circumventing GOP leadership and signing onto an effort backed by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to force a floor vote on a three-year extension of the expired subsidies.

That vote is now expected to take place in the coming weeks, though Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he has no intention of holding a vote in his own chamber, and even Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has played down the prospects of a bipartisan extension.

“Once Jan. 1 comes and everyone is locked into their insurance proposals, you can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube,” he said last month.

The purple-district Republicans said they intend to keep trying, and they are coordinating with a bipartisan group of senators that is trying to strike a late compromise to save the subsidies. But Democrats believe it is too little, too late — even as they say it is a telling move.

For the vulnerable Republicans “to come on at the 11th hour shows they get it,” said Rep. Madeleine Dean (D-Pa.). “Their constituents are going to be mighty mad, and they’re feeling it already.”

Congress

House Democrats introduce alternative war powers resolution

Published

20 minutes ago

March 3, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Half a dozen moderate House Democrats have introduced their own war powers resolution as the chamber barrels towards a floor vote later this week on a bipartisan measure to curb President Donald Trump’s use of force in Iran.

It’s a sign of how some Democrats are struggling to reconcile their opposition to the Trump administration’s military action with a desire to appear hawkish on national security — even in a largely symbolic capacity.

The new proposed resolution from the six lawmakers would call for an end to military operations in Iran within 30 days unless Congress provides authorization for use of military force or a declaration of war. In contrast, the resolution that is being forced for consideration Thursday from Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) would require the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iran.

The co-sponsors of the alternative resolution are Democratic Reps. Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey, Greg Landsman of Ohio, Henry Cuellar of Texas and Jared Golden of Maine, alongside Reps. Jim Costa and Jimmy Panetta of California.

The Massie-Khanna resolution has little chance of becoming law, even if it makes it through the House — which is no guarantee. Still, there’s pressure on Democrats to take a unified stance in support of the bipartisan proposal and against the Trump administration’s actions, with Democratic leadership and ranking members of key committees urging a “yes” vote to rein in the president.

Asked about the new war powers resolution from members of his caucus, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries during a Tuesday news conference said he had not yet seen the legislative text.

“Our focus is on the resolution that will be on the floor this week,” the New York Democrat said.

Jeffries also said House Democrats will discuss the matter Wednesday afternoon, following an all-member House briefing scheduled for Tuesday evening with Trump administration officials on the unfolding situation in Iran.

“We’ll continue to make the strongest possible case,” Jeffries said. “There is going to be very strong Democratic support for the War Powers Resolution across the ideological spectrum.”

Bipartisan members of the Problem Solvers Caucus, of which Gottheimer is a co-chair, have discussed the matter during their own meetings in recent days. Many have shared concerns that the Massie-Khanna resolution is overly broad and would hamstring the administration regarding key national security efforts, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter.

Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.

Congress

Mike Rounds seeks Pentagon briefing on Anthropic spat

Published

20 minutes ago

March 3, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

A top lawmaker on the Senate Armed Services Committee has requested a briefing from the Pentagon on its escalating feud with AI startup Anthropic, which has prompted the Trump administration to threaten to declare the company a supply chain risk.

“I’ll withhold judgment until I’ve had my briefing,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), chair of the panel’s cybersecurity subcommittee, told reporters Tuesday, in response to questions from Blue Light News about the unprecedented move.

A supply chain risk designation would result in Anthropic being blacklisted from government contracts — something typically reserved for firms with ties to U.S. foreign adversaries. The technology company is expected to challenge such a designation in court.

The Defense Department and Anthropic did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Negotiations with the Pentagon over use of Anthropic’s AI systems hit a roadblock last week when the firm refused to lift restrictions on the military’s unfettered access to its technology. The startup had sought to stop its systems from being used in fully autonomous weapons systems or for domestic surveillance.

President Donald Trump, roughly one hour before the deadline to meet the Pentagon’s demands, directed all federal agencies to cease use of Anthropic’s AI and declared a six-month phase-out period in a post on Truth Social. Trump threatened “major civil and criminal consequences,” and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in an X post accused the company of endangering national security.

Last week, key defense policy lawmakers on Blue Light News urged a ceasefire as tensions between Hegseth and Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei escalated. Top Senate defense appropriators Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Chris Coons (D-Del.), as well as Senate Armed Services Committee leaders Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jack Reed (D-R.I.), sent a letter to the two men expressing “concern over the escalatory direction of negotiations between the Department of Defense and Anthropic.”

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who is retiring at the end of his term in 2027, also weighed in Tuesday, telling reporters: “They’re telling Anthropic that they should compromise their code of conduct to facilitate whatever it is Hegseth or somebody wants.” He added that this will give other AI upstarts the “green light” to cast aside imposing their own codes of conduct.

Congress

Lutnick agrees to testify in House Oversight’s Epstein probe

Published

1 hour ago

March 3, 2026

Blue Light Newsroom

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick has “proactively agreed to appear voluntarily” before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee as part of the panel’s investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Chair James Comer announced Tuesday.

“I commend his demonstrated commitment to transparency and appreciate his willingness to engage with the Committee,” Comer, a Kentucky Republican, said in a statement. “I look forward to his testimony.”

A date for Lutnick’s deposition is not yet known.

Lutnick has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Epstein’s crimes, and he continues to have the White House’s support. But he has faced calls for his resignation from Democrats after the Epstein files released by the Justice Department revealed the full extent of his relationship with the disgraced financier. Lutnick had previously suggested that he cut ties prior to Epstein’s 2008 conviction for soliciting a prostitute. The Commerce secretary later conceded the two men had lunch together following those charges.

Shortly before Comer’s announcement Tuesday afternoon that Lutnick would cooperate with the panel, Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) shared her intention to force a vote to subpoena Lutnick during a House Oversight hearing scheduled for Wednesday on an unrelated topic. While committee Republicans have also expressed a desire to hear from Lutnick, his agreement to testify suggests that most GOP members would prefer to avoid having to take a politically uncomfortable vote to compel testimony from a high ranking Trump administration official — plus hand Democrats victory.

On Monday, the Oversight Committee released footage of a deposition with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, where Mace accused Lutnick of operating as a “go-between between [Hillary Clinton] and Jeffrey Epstein raising money for [her].” Clinton has said her work with Lutnick was around the response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York, in which Lutnick’s company lost many employees.

Clinton said she never recalled meeting Epstein and has not been accused of wrongdoing.