Congress
House Republicans weigh vote on Obamacare extension
Moderate House Republicans are talking with GOP leaders about possibly setting up an amendment vote that could add an extension of expiring Obamacare subsidies to a health care package expected to move across the floor next week, according to four people granted anonymity to describe internal conversations.
GOP leaders have been skeptical of such a move. But they’re currently working through whether it could pass muster with other Republicans, and it’s under discussion as centrist House Republicans grow desperate to hold off the expiration of the subsidies that more than 20 million Americans use, the four people said.
Those leadership conversations also include whether to include Texas Rep. August Pfluger’s bill redirecting the tax credits into health savings account contributions as part of the GOP health package next week.
Other options are under consideration as GOP leaders continue working on a plan Thursday, with Majority Leader Steve Scalise saying in a brief interview he wants to file the bills Friday.
Two of the GOP moderates, Rep. Jen Kiggans of Virginia and Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, have launched discharge petitions to force an extension vote, but those are unlikely to succeed before the subsidies expire on Dec. 31.
Fitzpatrick spoke to Johnson about the push during a meeting in his office Thursday, according to another person granted anonymity to describe the meeting. Fitzpatrick and Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) also huddled with Johnson on the floor later Thursday.
But Republican leaders are still working through what have so far been intractable issues over using the subsidies to fund abortion coverage, which risks the ire of at least some GOP hard-liners. There are fears adding it as an amendment could imperil the entire package, with key conservatives on the Rules Committee opposed to an ACA extension able to block its consideration.
But many more House Republicans — even some conservatives — believe there needs to be some sort of subsidy extension as a bridge. “I think we have to have that,” one conservative granted anonymity to speak candidly about a possible amendment.
Rep. Ralph Norman (S.C.), one of the hard-liners on the Rules Committee, said he opposes the inclusion of a subsidy extension but would not say if he would move to block it from getting a vote.
“I don’t want the discharge petition where you won’t have anything,” he said. “We’ll see how it goes.”
The House wrangling over an Obamacare patch comes after four Republican senators voted Thursday to advance a Democratic proposal for a three-year subsidy extension. There are ongoing bipartisan conversations among rank-and-file senators about how to get a deal across the finish line before they leave for the holidays.
Senate Majority John Thune has left the door open to taking up a bill if it can get through the House but said in an interview Thursday evening that he was not personally encouraging House Republicans to send over a bill.
“I’ve talked to the speaker, and I think he’s trying to gauge where his members are and see what the traffic will bear over there,” he said.
Rep. Max Miller issued a subpoena to his former father-in-law and fellow Ohio Republican, Sen. Bernie Moreno, in the latest escalation of a long-running family legal drama.
Pamela MacAdams, an attorney for Miller, reported to the Cuyahoga County Domestic Relations Court Monday that three subpoenas were served in Miller’s divorce case, according to court records. A person with knowledge of the subpoenas granted anonymity to comment on them said that two were sent to Moreno and his wife, Bridget.
Their daughter, Emily Moreno, was married to Miller, and the two remain embroiled in a nasty legal battle.
Spokespeople for Miller, Emily Moreno and Bernie Moreno did not immediately return requests for comment. TMZ first reported on the subpoenas.
Miller is seeking reelection in a competitive district, and his campaign has been marred by accusations of domestic abuse against Emily Moreno and their daughter. Miller has repeatedly denied the allegations and chose to remain in the race despite other Republican lawmakers pressuring him to withdraw his campaign.
The House Ethics Committee, which began an inquiry into Miller after Miller asked to be investigated, is currently in a preelection blackout period. During that period, which will continue through the midterms, the Ethics Committee doesn’t take any action against sitting members who could return next Congress.
Congress
Trump declares $1B canceled in ‘pocket rescission’ in another affront to Congress’ funding power
President Donald Trump informed congressional leaders Friday that he has unilaterally canceled almost $1 billion without Congress’ consent — employing a budget maneuver many lawmakers consider illegal.
In a move that will almost certainly set up an ugly government funding battle after the midterms, Trump has again claimed the power to execute a so-called “pocket rescission” to nix money Congress has already enacted. The money his administration will claw back is for for immigration services, support to foreign countries, education programs, health research efforts and assistance for businesses owned by minorities.
By law, the president is allowed to send Congress a request to rescind federal funding, then withhold that money for 45 days while lawmakers consider whether to approve, reject or ignore it. Trump administration officials also argue they have the power to cancel funding without any congressional action by sending Congress a rescission request with less than 45 days left in the fiscal year. The argument is that the money automatically gets canceled on Sept. 30, when funding lapses at the end of the fiscal year.
Last year, Trump canceled $4.9 billion in foreign aid.
The Senate’s top Republican appropriator, Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, immediately blasted the move as illegal, saying in a statement Friday night that “any effort to rescind appropriated funds without congressional approval is a clear violation of the law.”
“This move shows that OMB intentionally withheld these funds for months to execute this unlawful cancellation of appropriations that were approved on a bipartisan basis and signed into law,” Collins added, pledging to work with other lawmakers “to address these illegal actions.”
Collins and other appropriators have already been on high alert in recent days, pressing multiple agencies about funding officials have yet to spend ahead of the expiration date.
Democrats are finally catching on to how to talk to young male voters in the lead-up to the midterms, but the party can still up its game, one battleground senator and potential 2028er said Friday.
Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) has been one of his party’s most outspoken critics on its handling of outreach to young men, who swung right and helped deliver the White House and both chambers of Congress to Republicans in 2024.
The party is now “definitely moving in the right direction,” Gallego said Friday.
“Like back in the day, I was like the only one,” putting out positions on men, Gallego said at a Washington event on young American men. “Now, like, it seems like everyone every week is coming out with a new position, new idea, which is great.”
Gallego has criticized Democrat’s failure to highlight mens’ struggles and their tendency to over-police mens’ ideas. But there are signs the political winds have shifted in his party’s favor.
A new Cygnal poll released with the event of men ages 18-30 who say they’re the most determined to vote revealed Democrats’ generic ballot lead over Republicans at 57%-40%, Blue Light News reported. The poll also said nearly 40 percent of respondents said they feel their lives are off track.
“We need to take the opportunity to invest in that portion of this country, to say that we care about them and actually try to change the trajectory of what’s happening with men in this country,” Gallego said at the symposium.
Still, the path for specific legislation targeting the needs of this demographic faces an incredibly tight calendar this Congress and is uncertain in the political landscape of next year.
A proposal from Gallego and Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) to establish a men’s health office within the Department of Health and Human Services, for example, has not advanced. Nor has bipartisan legislation from Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), who also spoke at the event, targeting education outcomes, college investment transparency and dyslexic student support.
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