Four Republican centrists just signed a discharge petition led by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, forcing a vote to extend enhanced ObamaCare subsidies, according to The Hill. This is a huge act of defiance against Republican leadership, cementing the 218 signatures needed to bring the bill directly to the floor over their objections.
The four Republicans who broke ranks are Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Mike Lawler, Rob Bresnahan, and Ryan Mackenzie, all hailing from Pennsylvania and New York. By signing the petition, they have essentially guaranteed a vote on a bill that would extend these expiring subsidies for three years. This forced vote spells serious trouble for Republican leadership, who have consistently opposed the measure.
You should care about this because the ObamaCare subsidy enhancements, originally enacted under former President Biden, are set to expire after December 31. If they lapse, roughly 22 million Americans who get their health insurance from Affordable Care Act exchanges are going to see sharp increases in their premiums. That’s a massive deal for millions of people counting on affordable coverage with looming cuts in healthcare by the Trump administration.
It turns out Republican leadership completely infuriated them earlier this week
The four signed the discharge petition after GOP leaders declined to allow Fitzpatrick and other moderate Republicans an amendment vote on extending the subsidies. That amendment would have been part of a separate Republican health care bill that was slated for a vote that same day. When leadership refused to even let them vote on the issue, the moderates went straight to the Democrats to force the matter.
It’s worth noting that Fitzpatrick, who is also a co-chair of the House Problem Solvers Caucus, had tried a different route first. He had been leading his own alternative discharge petition that aimed to extend the subsidies for two years while adding some eligibility reforms. That effort only managed to scrape up 25 signatures.
Because that petition wasn’t gaining traction, the moderates decided to jump aboard the Democratic initiative for a “clean” three-year extension, even though some moderate Republicans have previously argued that Democratic leaders should support a bipartisan compromise that includes reforms to the program. They also point out that a clean three-year extension already failed in the Senate earlier.
Republican leaders, for their part, argue that these subsidies are poorly targeted. They’ve stated that the subsidies only affect premium prices for about seven percent of Americans. Leadership claims their own GOP health care plan will lower premiums for all Americans. Their plan includes funds to pay for “cost-sharing reductions,” important reforms to the pharmacy benefit manager industry, and expansion of association health plans.
Now that the petition has reached 218 signatures, you might expect an immediate vote, but that’s not exactly how House rules work. The signatories can’t notice the matter for at least seven legislative days. After that period, House GOP leaders would then have two legislative days to act. Speaker Mike Johnson could voluntarily speed up that timeline if he wanted to, but given the massive internal conflict this has caused, it seems unlikely he’d rush the process.
Published: Dec 17, 2025 05:00 pm