{"id":17581,"date":"2026-01-12T09:46:40","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T09:46:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/the-trump-loyalist-at-the-center-of-the-senates-obamacare-talks\/"},"modified":"2026-01-12T09:46:40","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T09:46:40","slug":"the-trump-loyalist-at-the-center-of-the-senates-obamacare-talks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/the-trump-loyalist-at-the-center-of-the-senates-obamacare-talks\/","title":{"rendered":"The Trump loyalist at the center of the Senate\u2019s Obamacare talks"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

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\u2019s MAGA wing.<\/p>\n

Sen. Bernie Moreno<\/a> of Ohio is, on paper, an odd fit in the core group of about a dozen senators in talks to extend Obamacare credits<\/a> that lapsed on Jan. 1. Most are well-known bipartisan dealmakers, such as Republican Susan Collins<\/a> and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Moreno, on the other hand, joined the Senate a year ago as a Trump-anointed presidential loyalist<\/a> who had just defeated longtime Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown with hard-line attacks focused mainly on immigration. But he has a key asset \u2014 a close relationship with Trump, who will need to bless or at least tacitly accept any agreement to smooth its passage through Congress.<\/p>\n

Asked in an interview about his decision to take a leading role in the politically fraught health care negotiations, Moreno deployed one of Trump\u2019s best-known slogans.<\/p>\n

\u201cPutting America first means putting Americans first,\u201d he said. \u201cPeople are being affected, and I want to help the people who need help. That\u2019s what we should be doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said his goal is to get roughly 35 of the Senate\u2019s 53 GOP senators to support an eventual deal \u2014 not just a handful joining Democrats on a \u201cdefection vote\u201d \u2014 and that he\u2019s keeping the White House and Senate leaders closely apprised of the discussions.<\/p>\n

Senate Majority Leader John Thune<\/a> praised Moreno in an interview as \u201cwhip-smart\u201d and \u201cwilling to do the work.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s willing to sit down with people and try and find common ground, which I think on an issue like this is challenging,\u201d he said. \u201cAround here, that\u2019s worth a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Senate<\/p>\n

His involvement is also a sign that a new generation of bipartisan dealmakers might be starting to emerge after some of the Senate\u2019s old hands headed for the exits<\/a> in recent cycles. Moreno is now in close touch with not only Collins and Shaheen but other Senate pragmatists such as Tim Kaine<\/a> (D-Va.), Lisa Murkowski<\/a> (R-Alaska) and Angus King<\/a> (I-Maine).<\/p>\n

Moreno\u2019s text chain with the dozen-member group is labeled the \u201cEPTC OG gang\u201d \u2014 a reference to the enhanced premium tax credits, the technical name for the Obamacare subsidies.<\/p>\n

At times, Moreno\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Minutes later, Collins walked toward the meeting seemingly astounded that word had gotten out about what she said was a \u201csecret meeting.\u201d Told about Moreno\u2019s request for help, a bemused Collins put a hand to the side of her face.<\/p>\n

Moreno said his freshman status means he doesn\u2019t have \u201cscars\u201d from previous congressional fights.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2018Oh, I don\u2019t want to be working with this person,\u2019 or \u2018They screwed me back in 1972,\u2019 you know?\u201d he said. \u201cI was in Kindergarten, so it doesn\u2019t affect me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Sen.<\/p>\n

At 58, Moreno is on the younger side for the Senate, but he is already airing frustrations about the chamber\u2019s growing polarization and making points about addressing it that jibe closely with complaints frequently heard from older generations of senators.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think there\u2019s enough muscle memory here about actually going in with good faith, good intentions and getting together and seeing if the deal can be cut,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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 \u2014 which were used by more than 500,000 Ohioans, according to KFF data<\/a> \u2014 have reverted to their original 2010 levels, benefiting only those with incomes under 400 percent of the federal poverty level.<\/p>\n

The Senate group\u2019s 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 \u2014 an arrangement favored by Trump.<\/p>\n

Moreno believes the group is in the \u201cred zone,\u201d 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\"Sen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we\u2019ve made clear from the start, the Democrats feel we have to come to the rescue and I hope we can do it,\u201d said Sen. Dick Durbin<\/a> of Illinois, the No. 2 party leader. But he warned that if the Republicans \u201cdecide they want to make this an abortion issue, I\u2019m afraid that\u2019s the end of the conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Moreno said the group wasn\u2019t trying to relitigate questions over federal funding for abortions but acknowledged there is a \u201cdispute\u201d over whether that is currently happening.<\/p>\n

Republicans\u2019 heartburn over the issue flared last week after Trump suggested in remarks to House members that they should be \u201cflexible\u201d on abortion language \u2014 sparking outrage from outside conservative groups<\/a> that ricocheted back on Congress.<\/p>\n

A person granted anonymity to discuss the negotiations said Republicans in a larger negotiating group of roughly two dozen senators haven\u2019t yet landed on a consensus position \u2014 much less the entire Senate GOP conference.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no need to come to a compromise because it\u2019s already been dealt with in the Affordable Care Act,\u201d Shaheen said when asked about the issue.<\/p>\n

\"Sen.<\/p>\n

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 \u2014 not least of which is the threat the expiring subsidies pose to the GOP majorities in November.<\/p>\n

Among the vulnerable lawmakers is Moreno\u2019s GOP partner in the Ohio delegation, Sen. Jon Husted<\/a>, who is facing a likely matchup with Brown.<\/p>\n

Moreno acknowledged that despite a feeling among negotiators that they are close to an agreement, it could all come to naught. Lawmakers \u201care on the clock,\u201d he said, and getting a deal is an \u201cif.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCapital I, capital F,\u201d he said. \u201c75-point font.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u2019s MAGA wing. Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio is, on paper, an odd fit in the core group of about a dozen senators in talks […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17582,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17581"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17581\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}