Congress
The Trump loyalist at the center of the Senate’s Obamacare talks
If the Senate is going to strike a deal to revive a signature Democratic policy, it will be in part because of an unlikely broker: a freshman Republican from the party’s MAGA wing.
Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio is, on paper, an odd fit in the core group of about a dozen senators in talks to extend Obamacare credits that lapsed on Jan. 1. Most are well-known bipartisan dealmakers, such as Republican Susan Collins and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen.
Moreno, on the other hand, joined the Senate a year ago as a Trump-anointed presidential loyalist who had just defeated longtime Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown with hard-line attacks focused mainly on immigration. But he has a key asset — a close relationship with Trump, who will need to bless or at least tacitly accept any agreement to smooth its passage through Congress.
Asked in an interview about his decision to take a leading role in the politically fraught health care negotiations, Moreno deployed one of Trump’s best-known slogans.
“Putting America first means putting Americans first,” he said. “People are being affected, and I want to help the people who need help. That’s what we should be doing.”
He said his goal is to get roughly 35 of the Senate’s 53 GOP senators to support an eventual deal — not just a handful joining Democrats on a “defection vote” — and that he’s keeping the White House and Senate leaders closely apprised of the discussions.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune praised Moreno in an interview as “whip-smart” and “willing to do the work.”
“He’s willing to sit down with people and try and find common ground, which I think on an issue like this is challenging,” he said. “Around here, that’s worth a lot.”
His involvement is also a sign that a new generation of bipartisan dealmakers might be starting to emerge after some of the Senate’s old hands headed for the exits in recent cycles. Moreno is now in close touch with not only Collins and Shaheen but other Senate pragmatists such as Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Angus King (I-Maine).
Moreno’s text chain with the dozen-member group is labeled the “EPTC OG gang” — a reference to the enhanced premium tax credits, the technical name for the Obamacare subsidies.
At times, Moreno’s new-kid-on-the-block status has been on display. After Moreno and Collins convened a meeting in December near the Capitol Rotunda, the Ohio Republican asked a reporter for directions to the room, inadvertently tipping off its location.
Minutes later, Collins walked toward the meeting seemingly astounded that word had gotten out about what she said was a “secret meeting.” Told about Moreno’s request for help, a bemused Collins put a hand to the side of her face.
Moreno said his freshman status means he doesn’t have “scars” from previous congressional fights.
“‘Oh, I don’t want to be working with this person,’ or ‘They screwed me back in 1972,’ you know?” he said. “I was in Kindergarten, so it doesn’t affect me.”
At 58, Moreno is on the younger side for the Senate, but he is already airing frustrations about the chamber’s growing polarization and making points about addressing it that jibe closely with complaints frequently heard from older generations of senators.
“I don’t think there’s enough muscle memory here about actually going in with good faith, good intentions and getting together and seeing if the deal can be cut,” he said.
The group of negotiators have their work cut out for them. They are discussing a two-year extension of the Obamacare tax credits that were beefed up under former President Joe Biden. Since their lapse at the end of last year, the tax credits — which were used by more than 500,000 Ohioans, according to KFF data — have reverted to their original 2010 levels, benefiting only those with incomes under 400 percent of the federal poverty level.
The Senate group’s proposed extension would include new restrictions including a $5 a month minimum premium payment and an income cap set at 700 percent of the federal poverty level. In the second year, the proposal would also give enrollees to take their subsidy as cash in pre-funded health savings accounts — an arrangement favored by Trump.
Moreno believes the group is in the “red zone,” and could be ready with text as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday. But some Democrats involved in the discussions have been more circumspect, wary about a thorny dispute over abortion.
Many Republicans say they will not be able to support a compromise unless the subsidies are tightened so they cannot fund abortions in any manner. Democrats say the safeguards built into the Affordable Care Act upon its passage in 2010 are sufficient.
“I think we’ve made clear from the start, the Democrats feel we have to come to the rescue and I hope we can do it,” said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 party leader. But he warned that if the Republicans “decide they want to make this an abortion issue, I’m afraid that’s the end of the conversation.”
Moreno said the group wasn’t trying to relitigate questions over federal funding for abortions but acknowledged there is a “dispute” over whether that is currently happening.
Republicans’ heartburn over the issue flared last week after Trump suggested in remarks to House members that they should be “flexible” on abortion language — sparking outrage from outside conservative groups that ricocheted back on Congress.
A person granted anonymity to discuss the negotiations said Republicans in a larger negotiating group of roughly two dozen senators haven’t yet landed on a consensus position — much less the entire Senate GOP conference.
“There’s no need to come to a compromise because it’s already been dealt with in the Affordable Care Act,” Shaheen said when asked about the issue.
While the abortion question is a powerful force pulling some Republicans away from a deal, there are also compelling reasons for many to embrace a compromise — not least of which is the threat the expiring subsidies pose to the GOP majorities in November.
Among the vulnerable lawmakers is Moreno’s GOP partner in the Ohio delegation, Sen. Jon Husted, who is facing a likely matchup with Brown.
Moreno acknowledged that despite a feeling among negotiators that they are close to an agreement, it could all come to naught. Lawmakers “are on the clock,” he said, and getting a deal is an “if.”
“Capital I, capital F,” he said. “75-point font.”
Republicans who want Kevin Warsh confirmed as the country’s next top economic official are growing more exasperated at a Trump administration probe standing in the way.
For months, outgoing GOP Sen. Thom Tillis has said he’d blockade President Donald Trump’s pick until the Justice Department drops an investigation into current Fed Chair Jerome Powell. Now a growing chorus of Republicans, eager to install Warsh as Powell’s term as chair comes to a conclusion next month, are joining the call for the administration to end the probe.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Wednesday he believed the administration should wrap up its investigation, and acknowledged that Warsh is basically stuck until then.
“I think at some point they’re going to have to deal with the committee, and they’re going to have to deal with Tillis,” Thune said of the administration.
Tillis holds a deciding vote on the Senate Banking panel, which scheduled a hearing on Warsh’s confirmation Tuesday. His GOP colleagues on the committee haven’t committed to blocking Warsh with him, but some are taking his side in calling for an end to the investigation into whether Powell lied to Congress during testimony last year about cost overruns at the Fed’s Washington headquarters.
Sen. Mike Rounds, who has previously declined to weigh in on the probe, told reporters Wednesday he wants to see it dropped so that Warsh can be confirmed.
“The president wants a different Fed chair. And we want to help him get there,” Rounds said. “But that requires right now that they resolve the issue surrounding this prosecution that is still taking place.”
Another Banking Republican granted anonymity to speak candidly predicted the administration and Tillis would ultimately find an off-ramp but told Jordain Carney the DOJ “should drop the investigation.”
And over in the House — which holds no sway over nominations — Financial Services Chair French Hill said Wednesday “it’s time for the administration to draw that investigation to a conclusion,” as “we want to make sure that we’ve got a new confirmed head of the Fed that we can work with in conducting oversight.”
Trump, meanwhile, is digging in and ratcheting up his conflict with Powell. He threatened Wednesday to fire Powell if he stays on as chair once his term ends — a growing possibility amid the Warsh stalemate. That follows a visit that officials from U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro’s office made to the Fed’s headquarters this week.
Asked about the prospect of getting Tillis’ vote to help secure his Fed nominee, Trump said on Fox Business that the North Carolinian is “no longer a senator,” given that Tillis is retiring at the end of his term.
But Tillis is standing his ground, Jordain and Jasper Goodman report, and he’s leaving the door open to exercising his power even more.
Tillis also sits on Senate Judiciary, where he will have a vote in the event the panel considers a successor to outgoing Attorney General Pam Bondi. He’s already warned he will block any attorney general nominee who has dismissed the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. And he’s not completely ruling out making the Fed probe a litmus test for AG nominees if it continues.
“If we keep letting this go on, I have to consider other options for really amplifying my concern,” Tillis said of his Fed fight.
What else we’re watching:
— Johnson tries again on FISA: Speaker Mike Johnson is expecting to put a procedural vote on the House floor Thursday to renew key government spy powers after his attempt Wednesday failed. GOP leaders canceled a planned vote Wednesday amid disagreements over whether to allow members to amend the legislation reauthorizing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.
— RFK Jr. hearing palooza kicks off: Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Thursday starts a stretch of seven congressional hearings in less than a week. The series serves as the first high-profile public forum to test the White House’s theory that Kennedy will help Republicans in the midterms.
— Selig likely to talk prediction markets: House Agriculture lawmakers Thursday are all but certain to press CFTC Chair Michael Selig on the surge in popularity — and controversy — surrounding prediction markets. Selig has emerged as the markets’ most prominent backer in Washington, but he’s also planning to make one thing clear to the lawmakers up front: He’s still the markets’ top cop.
Jordain Carney, Jasper Goodman, Mia McCarthy, Declan Harty, Carmen Paun, Simon Levien, Robert King and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.
Progressive political newcomer Graham Platner outraised both Democratic Gov. Janet Mills and Sen. Susan Collins in the first fundraising quarter in Maine’s key Senate race.
But Collins, seeking her sixth term, maintains a formidable cash advantage over both of her Democratic opponents that could give her a head start against whichever Democrat emerges from the June primary.
Platner raised $4.1 million in the first quarter, down from $4.6 million he had raised the prior quarter, while Mills brought in $2.6 million, down from $2.7 million in the final quarter of 2025, which had also included her campaign launch.
Collins brought in just over $3 million and had just over $10 million in the bank. She is also expected to be buoyed by a wave of outside money, with a super PAC supporting her, Pine Tree Results, reporting another $11.5 million cash on hand. Platner had $2.7 million in the bank, while Mills had just over $1 million.
Maine is one of national Democrats’ top targets as they seek to take back the Senate, with Collins the only Republican senator representing a seat won by Kamala Harris in 2024.
But it is one of the few battleground states where Democrats do not have a clear cash advantage. The comparatively lower fundraising totals for Platner and Mills compared to Democratic Senate candidates in states such as Ohio and North Carolina may reflect that some donors are still waiting on the sidelines to see which of the pair emerges to face Collins, while others are choosing sides.
Both Platner and Mills have faced challenges, albeit very different ones, in the primary. Mills, a two-term governor who entered the race with the backing of national Democrats, has trailed in recent public polling despite her near-universal name recognition. Platner, an oysterman and military veteran, quickly caught national attention and has drawn large crowds in the state. But he has been beset with a string of controversies involving old Reddit posts that began in mid-October, near the beginning of the previous fundraising quarter.
Former GOP Rep. Mike Rogers has opened up a small cash advantage over his Democratic rivals in Michigan’s open Senate race as they battle through a competitive primary. But he hasn’t taken full advantage of the hard-fought contest on the other side to build a big financial edge.
Rogers raised $2.2 million over the first three months of the year and began April with $4.2 million in cash on hand, according to his federal campaign finance filing.
It’s a small cushion, however, especially considering that he has no serious primary competition, with two of his three Democratic potential opponents outraising him for the quarter.
State Sen. Mallory McMorrow raked in $3 million and had nearly $3.7 million in cash on hand. Abdul El-Sayed raised just under $2.3 million and had $2.5 million in the bank. And Rep. Haley Stevens brought in $2 million and had nearly $3.4 million in her coffers.
Still, Rogers is in a better financial position now than at this point in his last Senate run, when he had less than $1.4 million in cash on hand compared to now-Sen. Elissa Slotkin’s $8.6 million. Slotkin beat Rogers in that race by just 19,000 votes as Trump won the state by an 80,000-vote margin.
Rogers is in line for some significant outside aid. The Senate Leadership Fund, a top Republican super PAC, said earlier this month that it would pour $45 million into flipping the seat that will be critical to determining control of the chamber.
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