Congress
Trump’s health care plan in flux amid GOP backlash
Donald Trump’s health care plan is in limbo after pushback from Republicans who were caught off guard by the president’s forthcoming proposal — questioning, in particular, whether it would include additional abortion restrictions.
Trump had been expected to unveil a new policy framework Monday afternoon, said two people familiar with the plan and granted anonymity to describe deliberations around it. That framework was expected to center around a two-year extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies with income caps and other new limits backed by conservatives.
But while White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday that Trump remained focused on “unveiling a health care proposal,” she declined to get into specifics about subsidy extensions or a timeline for the rollout: “I’ll let the president speak for himself.”
A White House official separately noted Trump’s daily schedule never listed plans for a Monday rollout.
The uncertainty around the timing of the announcement comes as Hill Republicans remain sharply divided over whether to extend the enhanced tax credits to prevent premiums from skyrocketing next year or to let them expire at the end of the year and coalesce around an alternative approach to keep health care costs down.
One House Republican granted anonymity to speak freely said in an interview Monday they needed to see “what structural changes” Trump might float, adding that GOP lawmakers should demand “reforms … in exchange for extending the subsidies.”
According to three additional people granted anonymity to share details of the plan ahead of its release, Trump was preparing to place new income caps on individuals receiving the subsidies and require minimum premium payments for Obamacare enrollees. He also was expected to propose an option for enrollees to receive part of their tax credit in a tax-advantaged savings account if they downgrade to a lower-premium health plan.
These policy changes align with what many conservatives have been seeking. But it wasn’t clear Monday whether the plan would also include expanded restrictions under the so-called Hyde amendment, which bans federal funds from being used for abortions.
One of the people who described the tentative plan and two other people granted anonymity to disclose private discussions said congressional Republicans still didn’t know how Trump’s proposal would deal with that thorny issue.
The ACA has always barred federal subsidies from paying for abortions but left it up to states to determine whether health insurance plans in the individual market could cover abortion using other funding.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, the president of SBA Pro-Life America, reiterated in a statement Monday her anti-abortion group will penalize any lawmaker who votes for a subsidies extension without additional abortion guardrails that ban coverage nationwide.
“We oppose any health care plan that fails to include this safeguard,” she said. “Our position is consistent and will not change.”
Trump’s plan to extend the ACA credits — even with changes sought by conservatives — also blindsided some Hill Republicans who have dug in against any bipartisan deal to extend the credits.
“I know that we’ve got different ideas in our conference,” House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said in a Monday morning interview on Fox Business Network. “I think you’re going to hear more from the White House.”
House GOP leadership last week gave a presentation to the House Republican Conference slamming the subsidies for perpetuating what they dubbed the “Unaffordable Care Act,” a moniker Emmer repeated Monday.
Not all Republicans reacted negatively to the news of a forthcoming health policy announcement from Trump. Rep. Tim Burchett in an interview Monday credited the president with having “some guts” to get lawmakers “to the table.” Trump’s forthcoming framework, Burchett added, “starts the negotiating.”
“I don’t like the subsidies,” the Tennessee Republican continued, “but everybody griping about it doesn’t have a plan, so get some guts, put up a plan … or get the heck out of the way.”
Burchett also said the White House will now roll out the plan Tuesday, underscoring confusion and mixed messaging around the forthcoming presentation.
Leavitt left open a broad array of possibilities for the final White House plan Monday, including that it might not ultimately include a subsidy extension. Asked specifically if that provision would be included, she told reporters, “As you all know, sometimes you report things and then President Trump comes out with an announcement and those things are not always true.”
Some Democrats expressed cautious optimism upon learning that Trump was preparing to embrace an extension of the ACA credits.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who has been heavily involved in the bipartisan negotiations on health care, said in a statement Monday that she has had “constructive conversations” with Republicans about extending the enhanced tax credits.
“If the reports are true and the President is considering coming to the table in good faith, I believe we can find a path forward that can earn broad bipartisan support in Congress,” Shaheen said.
She added that anything Trump puts out on the issue could signal “a serious proposal to begin negotiations.”
Democrats, including Shaheen, have been discussing what their strategy should be ahead of a floor vote in mid-December on a proposal to extend the subsidies, which was promised to Democrats by Senate Majority Leader John Thune in exchange for their votes to end the government shutdown. Democrats will get to decide what proposal they want a vote on, though Republicans are expected to offer their own alternative unless there is a bipartisan deal.
One provision that had been included in Trump’s tentative plan — pegging the eligibility cap for the subsidies at 700 percent of the federal poverty line — is among the ideas being mulled by Shaheen and her colleagues.
But other Democrats slammed the proposal outright, further casting doubt on how Trump’s opening salvo would land on Capitol Hill.
In a statement Monday afternoon, the three top House Democrats on committees with jurisdiction over health care — Reps. Richard Neal of Massachusetts, Frank Pallone of New Jersey and Bobby Scott of Virginia — panned the White House’s forthcoming proposal, calling it the “greatest hits of Republican health care ideas the people have rejected for years.”
They continued, “At this point, anything short of a clean extension is unworkable and won’t avoid the price hikes people are now facing.”
President Donald Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson will meet at the White House Tuesday with the executives of top artificial intelligence companies, according to two people granted anonymity to discuss private plans.
The meeting comes as Congress is coming under increasing pressure to put federal guardrails on AI development, as fears mount that technological advancements could soon spiral beyond human control.
Responding to some warnings that AI development was on track to cause human extinction by the end of the decade, Johnson has said he wants Trump and AI CEOs to “go in a big room, close the door and sort this out.” He has yet to endorse major legislative action to address the issue, as Trump has resisted calls for government regulations, citing concerns about lagging behind China.
The president and speaker were in attendance at the State Dinner on Thursday night in honor of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington, as were OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. It was not immediately clear which of these executives would be invited to next week’s meeting, and who will be participating.
News that the meeting had been scheduled was first reported by Axios.
A group of 10 Democrats has signed on to Rep. Greg Casar’s (D-Texas) bill that would ban superintelligence and pause advanced AI development until a vetting regime could be stood up.
Reps. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), both of whom are mulling a 2028 presidential run, are cosponsoring the bill, named the Ban Artificial Superintelligence Act.
Khanna, in a statement, noted that he convened a hearing this week on AI safety cooperation between the U.S. and China as ranking member of the House China Select Committee with AI experts who underscored the need for a verifiable pause on superintelligence.
AI superintelligence is an as-yet hypothetical form of the advanced technology that surpasses humans’ cognitive capabilities, but exactly when AI crosses the threshold into superintelligence remains contested. The bill would subject violators to a 20-year prison sentence.
The support from prominent progressives in the Democratic caucus comes as the party is navigating how they would approach AI regulation should they retake control of one or both chambers in November.
Other cosponsors include Reps. Analilia Mejia of New Jersey, Yassamin Ansari and Adelita Grijalva of Arizona, Val Hoyle of Oregon, Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, Chuy García of Illinois, Chris Deluzio of Pennsylvania and Nydia Velázquez of New York.
“We absolutely have to slow down and regulate the advancement of dangerous AI technologies that have the potential to spiral out-of-control and threaten humanity,” Ansari said.
To Lynch, a string of recent AI-led cyberbreaches has “shown us that the advanced forms of this are out of control,” he said in an interview. “We haven’t really solved that control problem yet, nor have we got the alignment problem right yet.”
Casar’s bill, introduced this week with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), is among the most stringent AI regulations proposed by either party.
Rather than focusing on bans as Casar and his progressive allies have done, centrist Democrats are looking to legislative proposals they say can address the technology’s risks without stifling innovation.
Senate Republicans are discussing whether to call up a data center utility costs bill as they make plans to stay in Washington next week rather than beat an early exit before the midterms.
Two GOP aides who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the Senate will remain in town amid pressure from some corners of the party to send members home early to campaign.
Asked if the Senate will stay next week, Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday it’s “looking that way.”
While some lawmakers had hoped to move a long-brewing bipartisan energy permitting deal, those hopes have evaporated, and GOP leaders are instead eyeing votes on the Ratepayer Protection Act — a top priority of endangered Ohio Sen. Jon Husted.
Thune said Thursday moving to the data-center-focused bill next week “is an option.” The Senate is also expected to take up a Democratic resolution condemning the Iran war and several presidential nominations.
The Ratepayer Protection Act easily passed the House earlier this month, but some Senate Democrats are arguing it does not go far enough and party leaders could be motivated to deny Husted a pre-election win.
Josh Siegel contributed to this report.
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