Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) was seeing mounting resistance within the GOP ranks even before the House went on its Christmas break.
Democrats were obviously upset over an ongoing healthcare stalemate, and a growing number of Republicans had begun to walk across the aisle on that front.
Now with Congress back in session, Johnson is fighting a growing movement of Republicans who are demanding that a healthcare fix be put on the floor immediately.
Just before the break, there were four House Republicans who crossed the aisle to join Democrats in trying to get a vote on the floor to extend Obamacare subsidies.
They were Pennsylvania's Ryan Mackenzie, Rob Bresnahan, and Brian Fitzpatrick, as well as New York's Mike Lawler.
Fitzpatrick stated, "Our only request was a floor vote on this compromise, so that the American People's voice could be heard on this issue.”
He continued, "As I've stated many times before, the only policy that is worse than a clean three-year extension without any reforms, is a policy of complete expiration without any bridge.”
That frustration seeped out of the House and started to work its way into the Senate as well.
With the defections to the Democrats' side regarding healthcare, senators were worried that Johnson would allow things to get to a point where a vote would be forced in the House, which would put pressure on the Senate, which had already blocked the legislation.
According to The Hill, one Republican senator stated, “It strikes me as odd the House is passing something we rejected.”
He continued, “There needs to be a plan. There should have been a plan to move forward with a result.”
We are now seeing that a small group of Republicans is taking charge, working on their own with the Senate to rework any bill they can send to the upper chamber in an effort to get something reasonable back that will ultimately pass both bodies.
Rep. Fitzpatrick stated, “We’ve taken yet another extreme measure today. This will result in the bill coming to the floor. It will pass. It will go to the Senate, and the Senate, we just met with them, are going to take it up. They’re going to send something back, and we will find a way to get that bill to the floor.”
The other potential route would be considered a nuclear option, which would be to issue a discharge petition, and based on the current numbers, they would be able to get one passed. However, that would create a clear rift with Speaker Johnson and, by default, President Donald Trump.
Remember, whatever is passed in Congress will wind up on Trump’s desk, so all this posturing means nothing if the president will not sign the legislation into law. I would suggest that interested lawmakers get Trump involved ASAP to find out the minimum to which the administration would be willing to agree, and use that as the starting point to craft their measure.
