The lion’s share of tributes pouring in for Lindsey Graham, who died unexpectedly over the weekend at 71, will rightly focus on his commitment to bolstering American national security. But there’s another aspect of his legacy that warrants celebration and reflection.
In between his crusades to seat President Donald Trump’s nominees and defend democracy abroad, the late senator from South Carolina led one of the last true efforts to fix American health care. With his death, the last of the Republican health care reformers is gone. We ought to reflect on this fact as we honor his life of public service.
Graham was one of the earliest and most vocal opponents of the Affordable Care Act. &#8220;A government-run, government-controlled system will increase costs, reduce patient choice, and eventually lead to rationing of care,” <a href="https://www.lgraham.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=A7BA46CB-802A-23AD-4475-D1E6ACB08CBF" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Graham said</a> after President Barack Obama unveiled his signature healthcare proposal in 2009. A year later, Graham lamented the damage Obamacare’s passage had done to American health care and the legislative process, <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/transcript/graham-well-has-been-poisoned-by-health-care-law" target="_blank" rel="noopener">saying</a>, “the well has been poisoned.”
In the years that followed, Graham never gave up the fight. But unlike many of his colleagues, he did more than occasionally call for “repeal and replace.” In 2017, a succession of GOP reform bills fell in rapid succession, ending when Graham’s friend, Senator John McCain, famously gave a <a href="https://www.npr.org/2017/07/27/539907467/senate-careens-toward-high-drama-midnight-health-care-vote" target="_blank" rel="noopener">“thumbs down”</a> to the Health Care Freedom Act of 2017.
Undeterred, Graham joined with Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy to introduce an amendment to a budget reconciliation bill that would come to be known, colloquially, as “Graham-Cassidy.” The package would have taken all the money that Obamacare allocated for premium credits and Medicaid expansion — $1.2 trillion over six years — and distributed it to the states through block grants.
“The Graham-Cassidy plan is built on the premise that the federal government should remove itself from many of the difficult policy decisions concerning how health insurance is subsidized and regulated,” the American Enterprise Institute’s James Capretta and Joseph Antos <a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/graham-cassidy-plan-sweeping-changes-compressed-time-frame" target="_blank" rel="noopener">wrote</a> at the time. The bill, they said, “would provide substantial flexibility to the states to design entirely different ways of subsidizing and regulating health insurance in the individual market.”
The bill would have saved taxpayer money while giving more resources directly to states. It would have helped lawmakers <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/medicaid-millionaires-how-the-feds-pay-immigrants-billions-to-hang-out-with-their-families" target="_blank" rel="noopener">crack down on fraud</a>. And, perhaps most shockingly in retrospect, it would have <a href="https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/25SEP2017SenCassidySTMNT.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">guaranteed access</a> to affordable coverage for Americans with pre-existing conditions. Graham-Cassidy would have allowed every state to innovate and design competitive insurance marketplaces that fit their unique needs, essentially removing Obamacare’s inefficiencies and problems without hurting the <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2017/09/graham-cassidy-health-care-reform-not-obamacare-lite-better-care-reconciliation-act-lindsey-graham-bill-cassidy/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">safety net</a>.
There was a lot more to Graham-Cassidy — it repealed the individual mandate, capped federal Medicaid contributions, among other things — but the crux of the bill was returning control to the states. Today we tend to dismiss this kind of policy as a cop-out. But at the time, returning control to the states was <a href="https://www.nationalreview.com/2018/04/obamacare-trump-should-let-states-experiment-with-fixes/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">seen on the Right</a> as the best way to fix Obamacare. Graham was no fan of the ACA, as we saw. But he understood that a straight repeal was likely impossible, and instead focused his efforts on reform, giving relief to Americans priced out of the individual market and giving freedom to the states.
Graham was one of the last, but certainly not the only, Republican who affixed his name to a smart healthcare reform bill. Republican Senators Tom Coburn (OK), Richard Burr (NC), and Orrin Hatch (Utah) introduced their <a href="https://www.aei.org/articles/the-burr-coburn-hatch-proposal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">eponymous reform bill</a> in 2014. When Coburn retired from the Senate later that year, Congressman Fred Upton (MI) <a href="https://www.healthaffairs.org/content/forefront/unpacking-burr-hatch-upton-plan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">took his spot</a> on the legislation.
Neither version of the bill passed, and all of its sponsors have moved on. <a href="https://www.city-journal.org/article/cincinnatus-of-the-plains" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coburn died in 2020</a>, and Hatch followed two years later. Burr retired in 2022, Upton in 2023. And <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/voters-decide-fate-of-senator-who-voted-to-convict-trump" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cassidy lost his primary</a> just this year, in a large part because he continued pushing nuanced but increasingly unpopular health care policies well into President Trump’s second term.
Republicans have yet to replace Graham and his fellow reformers. McCain’s no vote on Obamacare repeal temporarily chilled Republican reform efforts. Shortly thereafter, the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent election of Joe Biden would fundamentally reshape American health policy for the worse. The Republican Party, long willing to push for entitlement reform, fell captive to populist members and leaders who pledged to never cut Medicare and Medicaid. The ongoing vaccine debate has made hating the pharmaceutical industry a rare area of bipartisan agreement, a change that has all but ended any push for innovation or reform.
The result is that no one wants to fix health care anymore. Republicans are scared to upset the status quo, and Democrats, realizing that they’ve essentially won the war, have mostly pumped the brakes on their more radical attempts to push American health care to the Left, perhaps the last thing that would have motivated Republicans to make another push for reform.
Graham’s death did not cause or hasten any of these developments. But it is a stark reminder of what Republicans have lost, in the Senate and elsewhere. Graham was one of the last senators who consistently acted on the courage of his convictions, who was willing to do the complicated, ugly, and often unpopular work of real legislating and serious policymaking. His party changed and public opinion turned, but Lindsey Graham never stopped fighting for what he knew to be right and what he knew was best for the American people. May his legacy inspire other lawmakers to pick up his mantle.

Senate Lawmakers Speak To The Media After Their Weekly Policy Luncheons

One Of Lindsey Graham’s Biggest Conservative Battles

bill Cassidy

Donald Trump

DW Opinion

Health Care

John McCain

Lindsey Graham

Obamacare

Obituaries

A new poll indicates that the majority of Americans back President Donald Trump’s proposal to allow people to buy their own health insurance with direct funding from the government, as it is being mulled as a possible alternative to continuing Affordable Care Act subsidies.
OnMessage Public Strategies and the Insurance Watchdog Coalition asked 1,000 likely voters nationally their thoughts on a variety of health care issues from Jan. 15-18, including 59% who said they would back Trump’s health care pitch. A memo from the polling firm described it as a “center-right coalition” with that 59% being made up of 82% of Republicans and 51% of Independents. Twenty-eight percent opposed, 13% did not know or did not have an opinion.
Last week, Trump announced the “Great Healthcare Plan” pitch for Congress, as the president said in a video announcement last week that it “will truly make health care affordable again.”
The webpage for the policy states that it “stops sending big insurance companies billions in extra taxpayer-funded subsidy payments and instead sends that money directly to eligible Americans to allow them to buy the health insurance of their choice.”
Sixty-three percent of those polled said that health insurance companies should be the focus of policymakers “to solve the problems in health care” affecting them, with 13% saying pharmaceutical companies.
There was also 97% consensus on having “more transparency for health insurance companies so they can’t use secret rules or computer programs to decide who gets care and when” and that “health insurance pricing needs to be made more transparent so that patients know the cost for every appointment, procedure or prescription drug, allowing patients to make informed choices, driving down costs overall.”
In addition, 70% of those polled agreed with the premise that “health insurance companies should be forced to cover all drugs offered on the new government website without marking up the price,” in a specific reference to TrumpRx, a government website launched to help people find the lowest drug prices available for specific medications. Only 11% disagreed.
“While many Democrats believe that the issue of health care offers them political inroads, Republicans and the Trump Administration have the chance to go on offense with meaningful policy wins for voters as it relates to health insurance and have begun to do so,” the OnMessage memo stated.
Congress has been at odds over the Affordable Care Act subsidies that expired at the end of 2025, with the House voting to extend the subsidies for three years with the support of a handful of Republicans through a discharge petition. Talks have been murkier in the Senate on the continuation of the subsidies, as ACA plan premiums rose significantly for many, as many conservatives have argued it serves as evidence that Obamacare was not a fiscal sound policy to begin with.
<a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2026/01/20/congress/congress-clinches-health-deal-to-crack-down-on-drug-intermediaries-00736680" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Politico</a> reported Tuesday that a bipartisan health care deal was achieved on some aspects of the debate, but not the subsidies.

President Trump Tours Ford Rouge Complex In Michigan

Exclusive: Majority Of Americans Back Key Element Of Trump’s ‘Great Healthcare Plan’

Congress

Health

Healthcare

Politics

Trump Administration

President Donald Trump suggested Tuesday that Republicans should be “flexible” when it comes to the Hyde Amendment, a policy that prevents taxpayer funding for abortions. 
Trump made the comments during a speech to congressional lawmakers gathered at the Trump-Kennedy Performing Arts Center for the House GOP Member Retreat. While discussing negotiations over health care policy, Trump said that they may have to reconsider their strong stance on the policy. 
“You have to be a little flexible on Hyde, you know that. You’ve got to be a little flexible,” Trump said. “You’ve got to use ingenuity. You’ve got to work. We’re all big fans of everything.”
The Hyde Amendment has become a focal point in negotiations over proposed extensions of Obamacare subsidies. Most Republicans have said that any extension of health care subsidies is a non-starter if the Hyde Amendment is not applied. 
“Taxpayer $ should never be used to fund abortion &amp; I’m opposed to any plan that doesn’t include strong protections for the Hyde amendment,” Montana GOP Senator Steve Daines <a href="https://x.com/SteveDaines/status/1998421111311331736">said</a> last month on X. 
When passed by Democrats, Obamacare <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/pub-attachments/dae9be74-4af9-428b-8e50-89d7652acc26.pdf">did not</a> include the Hyde Amendment and allowed some taxpayer funding for abortions. Historically, the Hyde Amendment has been attached to the Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Act, banning funding for abortions and health insurance plans that cover abortions in their policies. 
Trump’s suggestion quickly drew criticism from major pro-life groups like Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. 
“For decades, opposition to taxpayer funding of abortion and support for the Hyde Amendment has been an unshakeable bedrock principle and a minimum standard in the Republican Party. To suggest Republicans should be ‘flexible’ is an abandonment of this decades-long commitment. If Republicans abandon Hyde, they are sure to lose this November,” said SBA President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “President Trump and congressional Republicans must follow through, not abandon, this commitment.”
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for clarification on the president’s comments. 
Alabama Republican Rep. Robert Aderholt on Tuesday suggested that he would not compromise on the Hyde Amendment. 
“The Hyde Amendment has saved over 2.6 million innocent lives,” he said. “My commitment to these protections is unchanging.”
Upon taking office, Trump <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/enforcing-the-hyde-amendment/">signed</a> an executive order last January to enforce the Hyde Amendment and crack down on taxpayer funding for abortion. 
“The previous administration disregarded this established, commonsense policy by embedding forced taxpayer funding of elective abortions in a wide variety of Federal programs,” Trump wrote. “It is the policy of the United States, consistent with the Hyde Amendment, to end the forced use of Federal taxpayer dollars to fund or promote elective abortion.”
In recent weeks, pro-life groups have pushed for the Trump administration to reverse Biden-era rules at the FDA that allowed abortion pills to be sent through the mail with no in-person doctor visits. The mail-in abortions have <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/despite-dobbs-more-babies-are-still-being-aborted-in-the-united-states">fueled</a> a rise in abortions despite the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court.

US-POLITICS-TRUMP-GOP

Trump Says Republicans Should Be ‘Flexible’ On Rule That Bars Taxpayer-Funded Abortions

Trump Says Republicans Should Be 'Flexible' On Rule That Bars Taxpayer Funded Abortion

Abortion

Hyde Amendment

Pro-Life Movement

The House will vote on a three-year extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies after 218 lawmakers – all Democrats and four Republicans – signed a discharge petition on Wednesday.
The move comes after Speaker Mike Johnson said he would not personally allow a floor vote, saying, “In the end, there was not an agreement,” <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2025/12/16/congress/mike-johnson-aca-vote-00692703">according</a> to POLITICO.
The subsidies are set to expire at the end of this year as a longer-term solution continues to be debated. Most Democrats have argued that the subsidies must continue to avoid insurance premiums from spiking. Many Republicans have argued that the dependency on subsidies to keep premiums low demonstrates that the Obama-era program is unsustainable.
“This morning I signed the discharge for the clean 3-year extension of the enhanced premium tax credit. While I have been working for a bipartisan compromise with reforms, the failure of leadership to allow a vote on the floor left me with no choice but to sign the Democrats discharge petition,” Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) <a href="https://x.com/lawler4ny/status/2001309363571425600">posted to X</a>. “With [Brian Fitzpatrick], [Rob Bresnahan] and [Ryan Mackenzie] joining me in signing, it now has 218 signatures.”
“The Speaker should immediately bring it to the floor for an up or down vote and let the House do the work of the American people,” Lawler continued.
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A vote following the petition could occur today if a specific procedural action is taken, but the vote is more likely to happen in January.
“To get this done TODAY, we need to defeat the previous question on the House Floor. And we need them to vote with us to do it,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) <a href="https://x.com/RepMcGovern/status/2001312688765382927">posted to X</a>. “To be clear, that vote on my amendment to the rule is the exact same language they already signed on to today.”
“It’s our last chance before Congress goes out of session since the discharge petition they signed takes 7 legislative days to ripen,” the congressman added.
If the House votes to extend the subsidies, it will then go to the Senate.
“Obviously, we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,&#8221; Senate Majority Leader John Thune said amid news of the discharge petition, according to Semafor. &#8220;Even if they have a sufficient number of signatures, I doubt they would vote this week.&#8221;
Trump has railed against the Affordable Care Act, suggesting during the government shutdown in November that “the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE.”
&#8220;Somebody said I want to extend it for two years. I don&#8217;t want to extend it for two years. I&#8217;d rather not extend them at all,&#8221; Trump said in November, according to <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-extend-obamacare-subsidies/story?id=127900310&amp;utm_source=chatgpt.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">ABC News</a>, adding that “some kind of an extension may be necessary to get something else done because the unaffordable care act has been a disaster. It&#8217;s a disaster.&#8221;

Federal Government Shuts Down After Congress Fails To Pass Funding Bill

House To Force Vote On Obamacare Funding

Obamacare Subsidies Vote Will Be Forced In House After Successful Discharge Petition

Mike Johnson

United States lawmakers and other sex workers are holed up in Washington D.C. discussing what to do about Obamacare.
The problem is that the massive subsidies of taxpayer dollars that have been funding the bill are about to expire, and should they run out, the only way to continue doing the important work that Obamacare does would be to rake all our money into one big pile then set it on fire and dance around the blaze, chanting, “Oh, look, healthcare is affordable now! Just keep raking.”
Democrats are searching to find ways to keep Obamacare alive while simultaneously bringing down the cost of healthcare. They’re working on such cost-cutting innovations as building doctor’s offices on the top floors of skyscrapers, then having the exit door from the waiting room lead directly out of the building to a fifty story drop to the pavement below, thus limiting the patient’s healthcare needs to a mop and a headstone.
Another version of this inevitable Obamacare addendum is called Medical Assistance in Dying or MAID, in which doctors who previously fulfilled their sacred Hippocratic oath to “Do No Harm,” by performing abortions and castrating little boys for no reason, will now simply murder their patients to keep them from running up their healthcare bills.
The Democrats will attempt to sell the public on the MAID idea with an upbeat holiday-themed ad campaign called “Everybody Ought to Have a MAID.” The ads will include a catchy jingle with the lyrics: 
<blockquote>Why decay, day by day, when, hooray, you can just pass away? 
We killed your babies, then as a bonus, we tried to cut off your son’s cojones.
Now rather than bear the healthcare onus, all you have to do is phone us and you won’t be billed, you’ll just be killed.</blockquote>
And okay, it’s not Sondheim, but it works better than Obamacare.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-large wp-image-974735 aligncenter" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1024x171.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="171" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1024x171.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-300x50.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-768x128.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now-1536x256.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/Klavan-watch-now.jpg 1800w" sizes=" (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></a>
Now some lawmakers feel the problems with Obamacare are built into the system. The way Obamacare works is this: Imagine a strapping, healthy 25-year-old man. Now imagine a 90-year-old man slowly being devoured by a slimy, oozing, bubbling green old man fungus spreading inch by inch over his skin and painfully dissolving his flesh into a malodorous puddle of boiling blood-soaked goo. Now stop giggling. You people are sick. You disgust me.
Anyway, under Obamacare, the healthy 25-year-old and the bubbling, stinky fungus man pay exactly the same amount for health insurance. Now, of course, the 25-year-old will soon begin to think: Hey, I&#8217;m not sick. Why should I pay rates meant to cover dissolving fungus face over there? Ah, but Obamacare had a fix for that called the mandate. Under the mandate, if people refused to pay for healthcare they didn&#8217;t need, the government would simply steal their money at gunpoint and pay for it anyway. Unfortunately, the mandate was canceled, but luckily, the Democrats replaced the mandate with subsidies through which they steal everybody’s money at gunpoint but instead of calling it a mandate, they call it subsidies.
Now you might say: well, we can’t just go on stealing people&#8217;s money to pay for 90-year-old bubbling fungus people forever because we&#8217;d run out of money! But then you would be a Republican and you’d be forced to do nothing, because you’d be a contemptible poltroon, too cowardly to explain to people that we should leave the whole business to the free market.
If you’re a Democrat, you have a better plan, which is to keep subsidizing bubbling fungi until the national debt is so high we have to sell the entire country to China. Then the Chinese can deal with our healthcare by saying, “Oh, look, there’s a malodorous fungus person, let’s harvest his organs, then invade Taiwan.”
At that point, Republicans can finally take action by going on Fox News and shouting, “This is all the Democrats’ fault and would never have happened if someone had had the courage to stop them! Now we must go to war against China, which we would definitely do, if we could still afford a Navy.”
Democrats, on the other hand, will simply rake all our money into a big pile and set it on fire, then dance around the blaze, chanting, “Well, at least we still have Obamacare,” except in Chinese.
* * *
This excerpt is taken from the opening satirical monologue of “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/show/the-andrew-klavan-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Andrew Klavan Show</a>.”
Andrew Klavan is the host of “The Andrew Klavan Show” at The Daily Wire. Klavan is the bestselling author of numerous books, including the Cameron Winter Mystery series. The fifth installment, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/After-That-Cameron-Winter-Mysteries/dp/1613166869/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EGZUC370LG46&amp;dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.Y_NI0mDOKeowShheDQTVx5NH-fAeimJoCD56_T0Acpl8C0mup7uJf-nGGSRLEItaaekoDnvS2vWLMa4Zd2UBXQ8Y-g-P502jOWz-Y8IX3ZQsdlO7WMLrg1xIhNoKmjCorSWUR4C2l_RbiZ7apJ1MfPzGOrrEf7AdAXX6xwnJRVP_XqUfWuMuVthTWscaU3P4vgmS86-96n-721enHfX12CFQWTajqFbVnrsDkexfUf4.6_gTH6h1Bb9Pn375QdF_VAVZSayDvjQBBKGXE-MTiFo&amp;dib_tag=se&amp;keywords=klavan&amp;qid=1754049918&amp;sprefix=%2Caps%2C80&amp;sr=8-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">After That, The Dark,</a> is NOW AVAILABLE. Follow him on X: <a href="https://x.com/andrewklavan" target="_blank" rel="noopener">@andrewklavan</a>.
The views expressed in this satirical piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Democrats Fail To Extend Affordable Care Act Subsidies In Government Funding Deal

The Democratic Plan To Extend Obamacare By Using All Of Your Money

Andrew Klavan

Democrats

Humor

Satire

American forces seize an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, the Senate shoots down competing bills on the future of health care, and a prominent college football coach is fired—then arrested.
It’s Friday, December 12, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. Today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below, and the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/mrn-251212-member-exclusive">video version can be seen on The Daily Wire</a>:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/u-s-defends-tanker-seizure-senate-subsidy-standoff-12-12-25/id1576594336?i=1000740979487" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2 style="text-align: center;">U.S. Seizes Oil Tanker Off Venezuela Coast</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1013813" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Tanker-Seizure-Shock-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Tanker-Seizure-Shock-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Tanker-Seizure-Shock-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Tanker-Seizure-Shock-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Tanker-Seizure-Shock-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Tanker-Seizure-Shock.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: The United States seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela on Wednesday in an escalation of President Donald Trump’s pressure campaign against dictator Nicolás Maduro.
Bloomberg was the first to report that a tanker had been seized earlier Wednesday, and President Trump confirmed the news later in the day at a roundtable with business leaders.
“An interesting day from the standpoint of news. As you probably know, we’ve just seized a tanker on the coast of Venezuela, a large tanker, very large–largest one ever seized, actually,” <a href="https://x.com/nicksortor/status/1998847332616421875">said</a> Trump.
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Some administration officials posted a video of the operation that showed American forces dropping onto the tanker and taking control of it. Attorney General Pam Bondi explained that the United States “executed a seizure warrant for a crude oil tanker used to transport sanctioned oil from Venezuela and Iran.” She added that the oil tanker had been sanctioned because of “its involvement in an illicit oil shipping network supporting foreign terrorist organizations.”
Maduro’s response: The Venezuelan government condemned the seizure in a statement that said Venezuela “strongly denounces and repudiates what constitutes blatant theft and an act of international piracy.”
This development has to be concerning to Maduro. Venezuela is a petrostate, with petroleum accounting for nearly the entire economy. The money the Maduro regime receives from oil sales is the key to its stability. Because the United States has sanctions on Venezuelan oil, Maduro has been forced to do business with regimes that typically are opposed to American interests, such as China. And then at deep discounts to offset the risk of violating American sanctions. If Venezuela is no longer able to sell its oil, that’s a huge blow to Maduro’s revenue.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">The Battle Over Obamacare Continues</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1013815" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Senate-Subsidies-Split-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Senate-Subsidies-Split-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Senate-Subsidies-Split-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Senate-Subsidies-Split-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Senate-Subsidies-Split-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Senate-Subsidies-Split.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: The battle over Obamacare is in full swing, with Democrats advocating for extended subsidies and Republicans offering alternative healthcare options.
Two votes took place in the Senate on Thursday regarding the looming Obamacare deadline. Neither of the bills passed, but it’s important to break down what Democrats and Republicans are pushing forward, because this deadline is coming up in a matter of weeks.
The Democrat bill: The Democrat-backed bill, called the “Lower Health Care Costs Act,” would extend Obamacare subsidies, which are technically tax credits, for another three years. These started back in 2021 and were only supposed to be in place for two years, but Democrats extended them until December 31.
The plan is pricey; it’s expected to cost taxpayers about $83 billion. But Democrats argue that the extension is necessary, otherwise more than 20 million Americans will see their healthcare costs more than double, on average. Republicans dispute that.
“Twenty-two million of the 24 million people will still get their subsidies, the original Obamacare subsidies, which subsidize the insurance at 91% of the premiums. So, their premiums won’t double,” GOP Sen. Ron Johnson told Morning Wire last month. “Going from zero to a negligible amount is an infinite increase. You can’t put that as ‘doubling premiums.’ The people we’re talking about, the 1.6 million people whose subsidies completely go away—I’m willing to work with Democrats on that.”
Republicans also argue that Obamacare, and specifically these subsidies, are creating massive fraud–another burden on the American taxpayer.
The GOP bill: The GOP-backed bill, called the “Health Care Freedom for Patients Act of 2025,” does let the Obamacare subsidies expire on the timeline Democrats set. But it also offers Americans direct payments to help cover healthcare costs. This was an idea floated by President Trump last month.
The health savings accounts created by the bill would be available to Americans earning up to 700% of the federal poverty limit, and the funds would range from $1,000 to $1,500 for 2026 and 2027. The accounts would restrict use for abortion and certain gender-transition coverage.
Republicans needed 60 votes, which would have to include a handful of Democrats, but that didn’t happen.
<h2 style="text-align: center;">Michigan Head Coach Arrested</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-medium wp-image-1013817" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Sherrone-Moore-Saga-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Sherrone-Moore-Saga-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Sherrone-Moore-Saga-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Sherrone-Moore-Saga-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Sherrone-Moore-Saga-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/12/Sherrone-Moore-Saga.jpg 1920w" sizes=" (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Topline: The University of Michigan finds itself engulfed in controversy after administrators abruptly <a href="https://www.wsj.com/sports/football/michigan-fires-football-coach-sherrone-moore-621eb019?mod=hp_lead_pos9">fired</a> head football coach Sherrone Moore with cause. Now, he’s in custody on suspicion of assault. Morning Wire spoke to former Michigan quarterback and Daily Wire Crain &amp; Company co-host David Cone about the Moore saga. (This interview has been lightly edited.)
Morning Wire: I&#8217;ve been, honestly, kind of shocked by this story. We looked at it initially and thought, oh, this will be an Evening Wire. And then it turned into a full-blown story that we felt like was worth covering here. What exactly is happening in this case?
Cone: A sad day for Michigan football. A sad day for this country. I just want to say that first and again, I&#8217;m praying for this man because there&#8217;s some very serious allegations here. I&#8217;ll just say to you now that I heard as far back as September, following Michigan&#8217;s loss to Oklahoma, I had a very reliable source closely associated with Michigan football call me and just say it&#8217;s widely known that Sherrone Moore has engaged in inappropriate sexual conduct with a staff member, and that conduct likely resulted in a pregnancy that was terminated. I heard this in September. I did some due diligence, but every time I would hear something that corroborated that, I would hear something else that says, that&#8217;s just rumor. Come to find out, throughout the fall, many other people and former players close to the program have been hearing something very similar. Wednesday, Warde Manuel, the athletic director, decided to fire head coach Sherrone Moore. … The reports out of Ann Arbor are that Sherrone Moore did not take that news very well, and that allegedly threatened to take his own life. I don&#8217;t know if this was directly with his wife or with the staff member. There is a question here, possibly threatening to even take her life, and he was arrested. I do want to go to as reliable of a source as it gets with the University of Michigan. This is John Bacon, and this is directly from <a href="https://x.com/Johnubacon/status/1998978431154008380">him</a>: “The UM employee presented irrefutable documentation about Moore&#8217;s conduct to UM leaders this morning (Wednesday). The president and regents had seen enough, and Manuel fired him (Wednesday) afternoon. Moore is now detained in protective custody in a mental health institution.”
Morning Wire: One of the big questions here is who knew what when. You say you have the source, it&#8217;s pretty shocking you heard this all the way back in September. Do you feel that this is a cover-up situation by the administration? And that&#8217;s a major allegation to make, but is that possibly the case?
Cone: That is a critical question that you&#8217;re asking, particularly since we are a week now removed from National Signing Day. You have national recruits here who, in good faith, signed their name to a national letter of intent because they thought Sherrone Moore was going to be the head football coach–how does that impact their decision? I lived through this as a recruit at this very place. This was my alma mater. But again, this is way bigger than football. We&#8217;re talking about someone&#8217;s life or family at stake here. So again, I can&#8217;t answer what board members will do when I just know that if I&#8217;m hearing about something in September, the athletic director certainly must have heard about this sooner. At the same time, how does he separate rumors that he must hear on a daily basis versus something that is credible and he must investigate?

MRN_251212_V1

Morning Brief: Oil Tanker Tango, Obamacare Subsidy Standoff, & Major College Football Coach Arrested

Morning Brief: Oil Tanker Tango, Obamacare Battle Continues, And UM Football Coach Arrested

Michigan

Morning Wire

Nicolas Maduro

University of Michigan

Venezuela

The U.S. Senate failed to advance two competing health care proposals on Thursday, leaving millions of Americans possibly facing steep insurance premium hikes when enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies expire at year’s end.
Both parties offered plans aimed at averting those increases, but neither secured the 60 votes needed to overcome a filibuster. The Republican measure, the Health Care Freedom for Patients Act of 2025, co-sponsored by Sens. Bill Cassidy and Mike Crapo, would have allowed the COVID-era subsidies to sunset on the timeline Democrats originally set. Instead of continuing tax credits to insurers, the bill would have redirected federal funds into health savings accounts (HSAs): $1,000 for adults ages 18–49 and $1,500 for those 50–64, capped at 700% of the federal poverty level. The proposal also would have expanded eligibility for catastrophic plans and restricted federal funds from being used for abortion or gender transition services. Republicans argued the plan sends money “back to patients” rather than insurance companies. Still, it failed <a href="https://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_votes/vote1191/vote_119_1_00643.htm">51–48</a>.
The Democrat-backed proposal, the Lower Health Care Costs Act, sought a three-year extension of the enhanced ACA subsidies created during the pandemic, at an estimated cost of $83 billion. Democrats warned that without renewal, premiums could double for many families and that the expiring subsidies were crucial to keeping coverage affordable. Republicans countered that claims of widespread doubling were misleading, noting that most enrollees would continue receiving the original ACA subsidies and that only about 1.6 million people would lose enhanced credits entirely.
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With both bills blocked in the Senate, millions nationwide are expected to face higher premiums. According to <a href="https://www.kff.org/affordable-care-act/mapping-the-uneven-burden-of-rising-aca-marketplace-premium-payments-due-to-enhanced-tax-credit-expiration/#:~:text=In%2019%20states%2C%20this%20person,modest%20at%20all%20income%20levels">KFF</a>, those losing enhanced support could see increases ranging from several hundred dollars to more than $1,500 per person. University of Montana economist Katrina Mullan warned that lower-income individuals not eligible for Medicaid and older adults not yet on Medicare will feel the sharpest impacts. Rising premiums may also push healthier people out of the market, potentially driving costs higher for those who remain insured.
Kentucky GOP Sen. Rand Paul, the only Republican to vote against the GOP bill, has his own plan, which he <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-senate-is-about-to-vote-on-obamacare-heres-what-to-know">said</a> was not a “watered-down version” of Obamacare.
“My plan actually fixes the system. It doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime, and it finally frees Americans to buy insurance across state lines through real co-ops. No bureaucracy, no bloated mandates – just competition, choice, and lower costs,” Paul said. &#8220;Basically I would legalize the ability to buy insurance across state lines, through a co-op.”
Despite the Senate stalemate, House lawmakers may pursue their own measure, while Republicans continue developing alternative plans, including broader HSA-based proposals and bills to expand insurance competition across state lines.

Affordable Care Act ACA and stethoscope on a table.

Senate Gridlock Puts Obamacare Funds At Risk As Competing Health Care Bills Fail

U.S. Senate

The U.S. Senate will vote on two different healthcare bills on Thursday &#8212; one Democrat-backed bill and one supported by Republicans.
The bill from Democrats seeks to extend COVID-era Obamacare subsidies for another three years, which will cost taxpayers tens of billions of dollars. Notably, the subsidies were set to expire this month, a deadline set by Democrats.
The other bill, backed by Republicans, lets the Obamacare subsidies expire. Instead, it directly gives some Americans about $1,000-1,500 into health savings accounts.
Notably, neither bill is expected to pass the Senate.
<h3>Extended Obamacare Tax Credits</h3>
Democrats say the Obamacare subsidies, which are technically tax credits, need to be extended again. They started back in 2021 and were only supposed to be in place for two years, but Democrats extended them until the end of this year.
The extension, called the “Lower Health Care Costs Act,” is expected to cost taxpayers $83 billion, while wait times and healthcare costs continue to skyrocket for most Americans.
Democrats, who are reportedly trying to keep healthcare a main issue for the coming midterm elections, say tens of millions of Americans will see their healthcare plans double if the subsidies are not extended once again.
Republicans, however, say that&#8217;s not true.
“Twenty-two million of the 24 million people will still get their subsidies, the original Obamacare subsidies, which subsidize the insurance at 91% of the premiums,” Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/obamacare-is-a-disaster-could-trumps-plan-fix-it?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=26&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Obamacare+Is+A+Disaster.+Could+Trump%E2%80%99s+Plan+Fix+It%3F">told</a> The Daily Wire last month. “So their premiums won’t double.”
“Now, you can argue that people that went from paying a negligible amount to zero premiums, they’re going to have to pay another negligible amount,” Johnson said. “But again, going from zero to a negligible amount is an infinite increase. You can’t put that as ‘doubling premiums.&#8217;”
“The people we’re talking about, the 1.6 million people whose subsidies completely go away — I’m willing to work with Democrats on that,” the senator added. “But again, it’s simply false to say that most people are gonna see their premiums double and triple. Now, the gross premium has more than doubled and tripled since Obamacare, but that’s because of Obamacare.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
To be clear, the Obamacare subsidies will continue. What’s at issue are the temporary, COVID-era enhanced subsidies that Democrats scheduled to expire at the end of this year.
Obamacare’s faulty design is driving premiums higher. Instead of fixing the underlying problems,… <a href="https://t.co/kwCZPf8RxZ">pic.twitter.com/kwCZPf8RxZ</a>
— Senator Ron Johnson (@SenRonJohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenRonJohnson/status/1998932956144959893?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 11, 2025</a></blockquote>
The GOP also argues that Obamacare, and these subsidies specifically, are creating massive fraud &#8212; another burden on the American taxpayer.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
A STUNNING new report shows just how broken Obamacare’s subsidy system is:
&#8211; 23 of 24 fraudulent applications were approved 
&#8211; 18 ARE STILL receiving coverage 
&#8211; TENS OF THOUSANDS of duplicate SSNs used 
&#8211; $94 million paid for DEAD people
And Democrats want to extend this system… <a href="https://t.co/vy3wzFdxq4">pic.twitter.com/vy3wzFdxq4</a>
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpeakerJohnson/status/1998867691667706228?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
<h3>&#8220;Health Care Freedom for Patients Act of 2025&#8221;</h3>
The GOP-backed bill, called the Health Care Freedom for Patients Act of 2025, lets the Obamacare subsidies expire on the timeline Democrats set. It offers Americans direct payments to help cover healthcare costs &#8212; an idea floated by President Donald Trump last month.
The health savings accounts created by the bill are limited for Americans making up to 700% of the federal poverty limit. Funds will range from $1,000 to $1,500 for 2026 and 2027.
While accusing Democrats of papering over the issues of Obamacare and enriching insurance companies, the GOP says its plan will directly help the American people.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Obamacare made healthcare unaffordable.
The Democrat solution, as usual, is to send billions in subsidies to big insurance companies.
Republicans want to help Americans directly instead. ⬇️ <a href="https://t.co/Cuer2bKiPv">pic.twitter.com/Cuer2bKiPv</a>
— Senate Republicans (@SenateGOP) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenateGOP/status/1998782549615632695?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
Like the Democrats&#8217; plan to extend Obamacare subsidies, the GOP plan is not expected to pass the Senate, despite the GOP majority. Some Republicans are still unsure about how to handle the expiring subsidies, viewing the issue as a political lightning rod, especially ahead of the midterms. Moreover, the GOP doesn&#8217;t seem to have any support among Democrats, and the bill would need support from a handful of them to pass.
<h3>Other Plans In The Works</h3>
Republicans are still working on other healthcare plans, hoping to craft something that will garner enough votes to land on President Trump&#8217;s desk.
One plan, led by Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger (R-TX) and Senator Rick Scott (R-FL), is called the More Affordable Care Act (MACA).
The plan would create HSA-style Trump Health Freedom Accounts, which would notably restrict use for abortion health plans, abortion services, transgender surgeries, or gender transition procedures &#8212; something most conservatives view as vital.
<div dir="ltr">
MACA would also create a new state waiver program within Obamacare to allow competition and drive down prices. It would allow health insurance plans to be sold across state lines and expand the availability of health insurance plans within existing Obamacare exchanges.
Another plan is being proposed by Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY). Paul says his plan is not a &#8220;watered-down version&#8221; of Obamacare, like current GOP options.
&#8220;My plan actually fixes the system. It doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime, and it finally frees Americans to buy insurance across state lines through real co-ops. No bureaucracy, no bloated mandates – just competition, choice, and lower costs,&#8221; Paul said this week.
&#8220;Basically I would legalize the ability to buy insurance across state lines, through a co-op,&#8221; the senator said.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Democrats want Obamacare on steroids, and Republicans are pushing a watered-down version that barely changes anything.
My plan actually fixes the system. It doesn’t cost taxpayers a dime, and it finally frees Americans to buy insurance across state lines through real co-ops. No… <a href="https://t.co/AXl552RHQK">pic.twitter.com/AXl552RHQK</a>
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) <a href="https://twitter.com/SenRandPaul/status/1998888972701868365?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 10, 2025</a></blockquote>
</div>
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/obama-takes-victory-lap-over-obamacare-which-remains-a-total-disaster?author=Amanda+Prestigiacomo&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=10&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Obama+Takes+Victory+Lap+Over+Obamacare%2C+Which+Remains+A+Total+Disaster">Obama Takes Victory Lap Over Obamacare, Which Remains A Total Disaster</a>

US-POLITICS-TRUMP-CONGRESS

The Senate Is About To Vote On Obamacare. Here’s What To Know.

Senate Votes On Two Healthcare Bills Today. Here’s What To Know.

Imagine tuning into a Sunday football game. Amid the flurry of touchdowns and tackles, the commercials are filled with familiar names — State Farm, Allstate, Liberty Mutual, and Farmers — vying for your dollars to cover your cars, homes, and personal liability. You have choices, and the competing advertisements are evidence of a robust marketplace where consumers benefit from price competition and innovation. But imagine if, alongside those ads, you could also shop for your health insurance — across state lines, no different than car or home coverage. Here lies a fundamental problem in American healthcare: you cannot buy most health insurance plans outside your own state. Unlike auto and home insurance, which have broad risk pools and interstate competition, health insurance markets remain balkanized, resulting in fewer choices and higher costs for consumers.
The roots of this uniquely American challenge date back to World War II, when the Franklin D. Roosevelt administration instituted wage and price controls to curb inflation. Employers, competing for talent but unable to boost salaries, <a href="https://www.aqpsearch.com/news/a-brief-history-of-employer-sponsored-healthcare">began offering health insurance as a fringe benefit</a> — a decision that intertwined employment and insurance in a way that persists today. At the time, it may have seemed like progress, but it has left countless Americans dependent on their employers for coverage. When jobs change, so does coverage, leaving those between jobs exposed and often without affordable options. Those ineligible for Medicaid — because their income is just above the cutoff — are especially at risk for being uninsured.
Decades later, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010, commonly known as “Obamacare,&#8221; sought to address the coverage and affordability crisis — most acutely faced by people with preexisting conditions who previously found insurance unattainable unless provided through an employer. The ACA succeeded in expanding insurance coverage to millions, particularly through Medicaid expansion and the establishment of insurance marketplaces. However, for those who do not qualify for federal subsidies, premiums and deductibles have <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/sallypipes/2025/10/14/how-obamacare-set-in-motion-todays-premium-crisis/">soared</a>. In many instances, families can face monthly premiums in the thousands, coupled with out-of-pocket costs so high that insurance feels more like catastrophic “coverage” than true protection. So while the ACA has done some good, it has not even come close to solving the affordability problem for which it is named.
The reasons for these persistent affordability issues are not mysterious. The underlying dynamics are straightforward, even as the system itself grows ever more complex. First, the ACA left state-level insurance monopolies untouched. Insurers still must navigate and adhere to rules that keep them within state lines, limiting the competitive pressure that could lower costs. Second, the oft-repeated promise from President Obama — “If you like your plan, you can keep your plan” — proved optimistic at best. The law introduced <a href="https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/essential-health-benefits/">10 “essential health benefits”</a> that all compliant plans had to cover, forcing many consumers off less expensive plans that no longer met federal guidelines. As a result, they and many others have found themselves paying more for benefits they did not want or need, in effect <a href="https://www.law.georgetown.edu/georgetown-law-journal/wp-content/uploads/sites/26/2018/07/GT-GGLJ180016.pdf">subsidizing coverage for others</a>. The state of California even <a href="https://californiahealthline.org/news/article/covered-california-record-enrollment-aca-obamacare-subsidies-jeopardy/">brags</a> that most of those who are subsidized are provided with “Silver” plans, but doesn’t say how this is on the backs of those who can only afford “Bronze” plans. This is due to how the subsidy thresholds and cross-subsidization mechanisms work, which is grossly unfair.
Third, the entire model of private health insurance negotiation keeps true prices obscured from patients. When a patient asks for the “cash price” for a procedure, providers often cannot answer because what any individual owes depends on secretive agreements negotiated between insurers and healthcare providers. This lack of transparency keeps patients in the dark and undermines genuine market discipline.
So why, after all these years, have costs continued to rise with little improvement in affordability? The answer lies in political paralysis and conflicting priorities. Democrats, many of whom see the ACA as a bridge to “single-payer” or “Medicare for All,” have settled for more federal entanglement in healthcare. They frame healthcare as a universal right; yet, rights in a constitutional sense do not compel one party to render goods or services to another. Insurance, whether for health or property, is fundamentally a contract — a product someone may buy, not an entitlement.
Republicans, for their part, have ardently opposed the ACA for over a decade, but rarely offer comprehensive, workable alternatives. Their efforts have focused on repeal rather than reform, missing opportunities to build consensus around real improvements in price transparency, portability, and increased consumer choice.
What might genuine reform look like? First, Congress should act to preempt state laws that prevent insurers from <a href="https://manhattan.institute/article/reforming-health-insurance-competition-across-state-lines">selling across state lines</a>. This change would foster true competition, broaden risk pools, and, by analogy to auto and home insurance, drive down costs for most consumers. Second, policymakers should require transparent pricing from healthcare providers. Using the negotiated prices that already appear on every patient statement as a baseline, providers could set clear, upfront prices for services, allowing consumers to shop and plan accordingly. Third, the government should remove the “10 essential benefits” coverage requirement, letting consumers tailor plans to individual needs — just as with any other form of insurance — while maintaining the current requirement to cover those with preexisting conditions. High-risk pools, already used effectively in auto insurance for drivers with numerous or serious violations, could support those with extraordinary health risks without distorting the broader market.
In sum, addressing the high cost of American healthcare requires breaking up monopolies, shining a light on real prices, and empowering consumers to choose products that suit their needs, providing health insurance portability, and eventually ending employer-sponsored healthcare. Instead, employers could offer to cover or enhance existing employee policies as a fringe benefit, but the employee’s health insurance would no longer rely on any employer. Only then can Americans enjoy a health insurance marketplace as dynamic — and as affordable — as the ones that already exist for our cars and homes.
* * *
Walter Myers III is a Southern California-based Senior Fellow at Discovery Institute.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
* * *
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It’s Time To Say Goodbye To The Obamacare Failure

Affordable

Federal Government

Health Insurance

Opinion

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that an extension to Obamacare subsidies &#8220;may be necessary,” but he would prefer a plan that made direct payments to American citizens instead.
The Affordable Care Act/Obamacare subsidies, set to expire at the end of the year, were the focus of Democrats&#8217; demands during the government shutdown. Some Republicans have pushed to let them expire, while others have argued they should be extended. The Senate is expected to vote on the future of the subsidies sometime in December. 
While en route to Florida on Tuesday night, Trump was asked if he would like to see the Obamacare subsidies extended. 
“I’d rather not. Somebody said I want to extend them for two years. I don’t want to extend them for two years,” Trump <a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/2K8V3xqC9Gc">told</a> reporters on board Air Force One. “I’d rather not extend them at all. Some kind of an extension may be necessary to get something else done because the &#8216;Unaffordable Care Act&#8217; has been a disaster.” 
When asked what kind of health care policy he would like to see, Trump said it would involve the federal government giving people money to purchase their own plans. 
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“I like my plan the best. Don’t give any money to the insurance companies; give it to the people directly. Let them buy their own health care plan,” Trump said. “And we’re looking at that. If that can work. We’re looking at that. That’s sort of taking off. That’s what I like. Don&#8217;t give the money to the insurance companies.”
Trump said that skyrocketing health care premiums were “the Democrats’ fault,” but added that they were negotiating with him. 
&#8220;It’s very interesting,” he said. ”I can’t tell you who, but we have a lot of Democrats who want this plan to happen. They would love to see the money go to the people and the people go out and get their own health care.&#8221;
Trump&#8217;s comments came after POLITICO <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/24/trump-health-care-subsidies-backlash-00667751" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that he planned to introduce a plan that included a two-year extension of Obamacare subsidies. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2025/11/25/donald-trump-affordable-care-act-subsidies-tax-credit/87473037007/">said</a> on Tuesday that health care discussions were ongoing. 
&#8220;The president is having ongoing conversations with members of his administration, members of Congress, and private sector experts,&#8221; she said. &#8220;He will make recommendations for healthcare policy improvements in the near future.”
On November 18, Trump said on social media that the only plan he would support or approve would be one that sends “THE MONEY DIRECTLY BACK TO THE PEOPLE, WITH NOTHING GOING TO THE BIG, FAT, RICH INSURANCE COMPANIES, WHO HAVE MADE $TRILLIONS, AND RIPPED OFF AMERICA LONG ENOUGH.”

President Trump Departs Washington To Spend Thanksgiving Weekend In Florida

Trump Says Obamacare Extension ‘May Be Necessary’

Executive

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) earned an annoyed eye roll from CNBC anchor Becky Quick as they squared off over health care during a Friday morning appearance on &#8220;Squawk Box.&#8221;
Quick and Jeffries were discussing the apparent impasse between Republicans and Democrats over the Affordable Care Act — and how long an extension they might approve for the COVID-era subsidies — and Quick tried several times to point out that some Republicans were willing to work out a deal, but Democrats were still trying to make demands.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Incredible exchange here as Hakeem Jeffries gets IRATE with CNBC’s Becky Quick for daring to press him on his robotic ACA talking points:
Quick: *Cuts Jeffries off to try to make him actually answer a question*
Jeffries: “You can ask the question, I’ll provide the answer!&#8221;… <a href="https://t.co/gegocDMQja">pic.twitter.com/gegocDMQja</a>
— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) <a href="https://twitter.com/WesternLensman/status/1991880057250251121?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 21, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Quick began by pointing out that there was already at least one bipartisan measure — supported by Reps. Tom Suozzi (D-NY) and Don Bacon (R-NE) — that had been proposed, offering a two-year extension to the subsidies in question. That would double the extension that Democrats had pitched weeks earlier — one year — as a potential shutdown-ending deal.
&#8220;If you want to get done, you are going to need at least some Republicans to come over, why not start with a one-year extension or potentially even a two-year extension?” Quick asked, noting that a three-year extension was likely to be “dead in the water.&#8221;
Jeffries balked, noting that Democrats had already tried promising to end the shutdown in exchange for a one-year extension, but that Republicans had turned that down.
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&#8220;That’s different. I’m talking about what you have now. Let’s not go back to what’s done in the past and what has not been extended. If you want to get something that it has actually done, you need to do something that will have bipartisan effect,&#8221; Quick pushed back.
&#8220;You can ask me the question. I’ll provide the answer,&#8221; Jeffries said.
&#8220;Answer the question instead of going back,&#8221; Quick pressed.
&#8220;I’m providing an answer in order to provide context,&#8221; Jeffries argued, prompting an annoyed eye roll from Quick. &#8220;Republicans have repeatedly refused to take yes for an answer. It was a very reasonable multi-year extension that was offered. It was one year straight extension, plus a multi-year process through a bipartisan commission to more permanently resolve the Affordable Care Act issue. So having that context is absolutely important, regardless of what you may think.&#8221;
&#8220;It’s important context to make me realize that I don’t think you want to get a deal done,&#8221; Quick replied. &#8220;I think this is something where you’d like to see the rates go higher and allow the Republicans to hang themselves with that. Is that the answer? Is this politics?&#8221;
Jeffries bristled: &#8220;That’s absolutely a ridiculous assertion, and really shame on you for saying that.&#8221;
&#8220;Three years is not going to get passed, so what do you do?&#8221; Quick asked again.
Jeffries repeatedly claimed that the issue was &#8220;patriotic&#8221; rather than &#8220;partisan,&#8221; but failed to acknowledge the fact that both the one-year extension offered by Senate Democrats and the three-year extension he appeared to be set on would guarantee that Republicans would have to address the same subsidy fight in an election year. The two year extension — to which he seemed adamantly opposed — was the only offer on the table that would put the next subsidy battle in an off year.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) Holds News Conference

Hakeem Jeffries Earns Annoyed Eye Roll From CNBC Anchor

CNBC

Hakeem Jeffries

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Though the government shutdown has ended, the fight over Obamacare is still raging.
Democrats want to extend and renew the Affordable Care Act&#8217;s expanded COVID-era subsidies, which are set to expire on December 31. Doing so would cost American taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars over the next decade. Republicans want to let the subsidies lapse, and find a way to reform America&#8217;s healthcare system.
Ryan Long, Senior Research Fellow at the Paragon Health Institute, told The Daily Wire that the expanded subsidies have created zero-dollar insurance plans that have sparked widespread fraud and abuse.
&#8220;There&#8217;s upwards of 6 million people who aren&#8217;t actually within that income category that are claiming credits as if they were in that income category,” he explained. “In certain states, there are three to four times as many people enrolled in 100 to 150% of poverty in these $0 plans than there are people actually in those income brackets.”
“So these COVID credits have just produced massive amounts of fraud,” he said. “The federal government’s paying, you know, upwards of $27 billion to $30 billion in fraudulent payments.”
Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz echoed this concern last week. “Today, it’s over 11 million people who have Obamacare, never use their policies … which means they often don’t know that they have it,” he said. “Yet we’re stuck with the bill.”
Obamacare is also making health insurance more expensive. Obamacare plan premiums have climbed a whopping 169% since 2013. The increase is far steeper than that of employer-sponsored insurance, because when prices rise, the government is paying most of the cost, so insurers can keep raising them without people feeling the impact, Long explained.
“What we’ve seen is, since the [ACA] was established or implemented in 2014, employer-sponsored premiums have gone up about 68%. ACA premiums have gone up 129%,” he said. “So that can’t be a function of just prices going up. There’s something truly wrong here.”
Healthcare costs and wait times have not improved since the implementation of Obamacare, either. So, where is all this money going?
Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) told The Daily Wire in an interview this week that a lot of this money is going to insurance companies.
&#8220;The largest carrier of exchange policies is UnitedHealthcare,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Their stock price has gone up 1,177 % since the invitation of Obamacare. Of the top seven carriers, the smallest amount of stock increases — I think, 414%. A lot of money into the insurance companies, a lot of money into the hospitals. There&#8217;s no doubt about it that we&#8217;ve got rural hospitals that are in trouble, but the big city hospitals are making money hand over fists.&#8221;
&#8220;There is nothing about Obamacare that created incentives to save money,&#8221; he emphasized. &#8220;All the incentives are to increase the money spent on healthcare so everybody gets their cut, everybody gets to make their profit. Non-profit hospitals, take a look at the pay of CEOs — some of them are making over $30 million a year in total compensation.&#8221;
&#8220;Money is flowing into the medical establishment, they&#8217;re making money hand over fists; the tabs are being picked up by the American taxpayer,&#8221; the senator told The Daily Wire.
Democrats’ solution to the healthcare crisis is to continue to extend and expand subsidies.
“We had a provision that was ready to be signed, that we know would’ve decreased premiums by 10 to 15%,” Long said. “Senate Democrats objected to it — the same policy that they were saying we had to do back in 2018. And so I think that they’ve just said, ‘Hey, the horse is outta the barn, we’ll just, you know, paper over any mistakes with more subsidies.’”
Johnson said Democrats are insisting on extending the COVID-era subsidies &#8220;to paper over to hide the fact that Obamacare has just been a miserable failure.&#8221;
&#8220;It caused premiums to skyrocket, as opposed to &#8230; President Obama saying that he would reduce premiums by $2,500 a year by family — again, that&#8217;s a total lie,&#8221; he added.
Johnson also pushed back on Democrats&#8217; claims that premiums will double for millions and millions of Americans if the subsidies aren&#8217;t extended.
&#8220;Twenty-two million of the 24 million people will still get their subsidies, the original Obamacare subsidies, which subsidize the insurance at 91 % of the premiums,&#8221; he explained. &#8220;So their premiums won&#8217;t double.&#8221;
&#8220;Now, you can argue that people that went from paying a negligible amount to zero premiums, they&#8217;re going to have to pay another negligible amount,&#8221; Johnson said. &#8220;But again, going from zero to a negligible amount is an infinite increase. You can&#8217;t put that as &#8216;doubling premiums.'&#8221;
&#8220;The people we&#8217;re talking about, the 1.6 million people whose subsidies completely go away — I&#8217;m willing to work with Democrats on that,&#8221; the senator added. &#8220;But again, it&#8217;s simply false to say that most people are gonna see their premiums double and triple. Now, the gross premium has more than doubled and tripled since Obamacare, but that&#8217;s because of Obamacare.&#8221;
The GOP believes that deep reforms need to be made — or Obamacare needs to be scrapped entirely.
President Donald Trump has proposed HSA-style accounts for Americans, allowing them to purchase their own healthcare plans, opening up the market, and bypassing insurance companies.
“I am calling today for insurance companies not to be paid,” Trump said last week. “But for this massive amount of money to be paid directly to the people so they can buy their own healthcare. They’re gonna buy their own healthcare, and we’re gonna forget this Obamacare madness.”
🚨 WOW! President Trump has the Democrats TOTALLY CORNERED on Obamacare
&#8220;I am calling today for insurance companies NOT to be paid. But for this massive amount of money be paid DIRECTLY to the people so they can buy their own healthcare!&#8221;
&#8220;Their stocks have gone up 1,000%!…<a href="https://t.co/V8gWK8RdSo" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> pic.twitter.com/V8gWK8RdSo</a>
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh)<a href="https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/1988810290767548793?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> November 13, 2025</a>
Republicans seem to be on board with the proposal. In fact, Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) said last weekend that he’s drafting legislation to put this idea into action.
Long said this could be a good move for Americans. If Congress were to adequately fund Cost-Sharing Reductions (CSR) — which are supposed to help people pay for things like deductibles and copays — that could drastically lower premiums and cut tens of billions of dollars in taxpayer funding, he explained. And, as Trump proposed, sending that money straight to Americans rather than insurance companies would only empower patients.
“One thing that we&#8217;ve advocated for is if you appropriate those CSR subsidies, which is one of the twin pillars of the subsidy structure from the ACA, you&#8217;ll reduce premiums by 10 to 15%,” he explained. “Two, you&#8217;ll lower federal spending by about $30 billion. You&#8217;ll give patients more power and choice. And we think with that power and choice, you&#8217;ll also have the effect of them being better shoppers, and that will lead to more competition and choice.”
“So one thing that you could do is appropriate those CSR subsidies, and instead of giving those CSRs straight to the insurance company, you can give those to people in an HSA, where they can have more power to shop around for more valued services or better-priced services,” he elaborated. “Again, you’ll have the twin effects of lowering premiums, lowering federal spending, and empowering patients, which we think is sort of a triple winner.”
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