Moderate Republicans buck leadership with bid to force vote on Obamacare subsidies as premium cliff looms
A group of moderate Republicans are defying House GOP leaders to try and force a vote on extending enhanced Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of...
By Fox News · Fox News
A group of moderate Republicans are defying House GOP leaders to try and force a vote on extending enhanced Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year. Republicans led by Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., filed a measure known as a discharge petition on Wednesday afternoon, a mechanism designed to force a vote on legislation over the wishes of their leadership — provided it gets support from a majority of House lawmakers. A dramatic series of events unfolded on the House floor as House GOP leaders worked to win support for an unrelated vote that first appeared poised to fail. While a group of conservatives threatened to mutiny Republicans on that vote for separate reasons, several moderates also appeared to withhold their votes altogether while Fox News Digital witnessed them in tense discussions with Speaker Mike Johnson , R-La., and other GOP leaders. BIPARTISAN DEAL ON OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES FADES AS REPUBLICANS PUSH HSA PLAN Those moderates eventually voted in favor of passing the legislation at hand before marching to the front of the House chamber to file their discharge petition. They lined up one by one to sign the document that would move their healthcare agenda full steam ahead even despite Johnson signaling little appetite to entertain it. So far, the petition has support from six House Republicans and two Democrats, but is expected to grow in numbers as the clock ticks on the looming healthcare cost cliff awaiting millions across the country. "We know we need a temporary extension of the tax credits — with reforms — and then we can do more serious things, but we're not gonna do serious changes to the [Affordable Care Act] in the next two or three weeks," Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., one of the signatories, told Fox News Digital. "So we just felt like, since there doesn't seem to be any impetus to do this, we're gonna try to force the issue." DEMS PULL OUT ALL THE STOPS TO KEEP OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES FIGHT ALIVE AFTER VOTE TO REOPEN GOVERNMENT…