With shutdown over, Senate focus turns to upcoming fight on health care

4 days ago 7

Washington — With the government shutdown yet successful the rearview mirror, the absorption successful the Senate is turning to an upcoming combat implicit wellness care, with Democrats hoping to regroup aft splintering successful the last stages of the showdown.

Eight Senate Democrats broke ranks to scope a woody with Republicans to extremity the shutdown, dashing the party's effort to triumph an hold of expiring Affordable Care Act taxation credits successful instrumentality for their ballot to reopen the government. Now, Democrats look a speedy timeline to displacement their strategy.

As portion of the deal, Democrats secured a committedness to clasp a ballot adjacent period connected the taxation credits, which assistance millions of Americans wage for wellness security premiums for plans purchased connected authorities exchanges. And portion Democrats person pledged to proceed the fight, precisely what that looks like, and whether it could find capable enactment to pass, remains to beryllium seen.

"What we person to marque definite of present is that the wellness attraction combat lives extracurricular of the appropriations process and doesn't beryllium wholly connected the authorities being unopen down," Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii told reporters earlier this week. "So present we person a combat successful beforehand of us."

Reaching statement connected wellness care

Senate Democrats indispensable present measurement their approach. With the committedness of a ballot connected authorities of their choosing, they person an accidental to effort to illustration a bipartisan way forward, with the enactment of forcing Republicans to instrumentality a politically perilous ballot if a woody fails to materialize.

In caller days, Democrats person said they spot signs of bipartisan involvement successful addressing wellness attraction costs. A fistful of mean Republicans person expressed openness to a tax-credit extension, albeit with immoderate reforms. Any measure would request 60 votes to walk successful the Senate.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin, a Wisconsin Democrat, said connected Monday that she's "talked to truthful galore of my Republican colleagues who privation to bash thing present — who privation to support wellness attraction costs down for their constituents." But erstwhile Baldwin sought to amend the backing bundle to see a one-year hold of the ACA taxation credits, the ballot didn't prime up GOP support. Days earlier, erstwhile Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Democrats would reopen the authorities if Republicans agreed to a one-year hold of the wellness security taxation credits, Republicans likewise rejected the offer.

But with the shutdown down them, Republicans person expressed willingness to negociate connected the wellness attraction issue. And Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters this week that helium sees a bipartisan way forward, noting that immoderate hold of the taxation credits "obviously … can't beryllium without reforms."

Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaks to reporters portion walking to his bureau connected Nov. 10, 2025, astatine the Capitol.

"But my anticipation is astatine immoderate point, the president is going to beryllium precise inclined to privation to bash thing to marque wellness attraction much affordable successful this country," Thune said. "So if determination is simply a willingness connected the portion of Democrats to enactment with Republicans to woody with the unaffordability of Obamacare successful its existent form, past determination mightiness beryllium an accidental to bash thing bipartisan."

Thune has said that a fig of Republicans are already engaged successful conversations connected the wellness attraction contented oregon person a precocious level of interest. He pointed to Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas, a physician, arsenic idiosyncratic with expertise connected the issue, on with Sens. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Mike Crapo of Idaho and Rick Scott of Florida, who pb the applicable committees.

"So determination are a fig of them that person already started to enactment connected immoderate things, and determination are already immoderate discussions going connected with folks connected the different broadside of the aisle astir what mightiness beryllium a way forward," Thune said. "We'll spot wherever it lands."

Similarly, Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, said she supports an hold of the ACA taxation credits, "but they request reform," she said, citing specifically a request for caps connected the income of those who are eligible for them.

Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican, talks with reporters astatine the Capitol connected Tuesday, Sept. 30, 2025.

Collins said determination are different ideas that person been raised by Republicans connected reforming the ACA to marque wellness security much affordable, pointing to pledges from Crapo and Cassidy to clasp hearings connected the contented and Thune's committedness to bring up a vote.

But different parts of the league look to beryllium eyeing a antithetic approach.

A Republican split

The efforts to find bipartisan statement connected the taxation credits were analyzable by President Trump's disapproval of the Affordable Care Act successful caller days. He urged Republicans to instrumentality bolder enactment by overhauling Obamacare and redirect funds from security companies consecutive to the American people.

Republicans person heavy criticized the Affordable Care Act since it became instrumentality successful 2010. But past weekend, pursuing a flurry of posts from the president connected Truth Social, a fig of GOP senators spent hours railing against the Affordable Care Act connected the Senate floor, portion immoderate expressed enactment for broader changes to the wellness security industry.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and adjacent state of the president, touted Mr. Trump's telephone to overhaul Obamacare implicit the weekend, congratulating the president for getting "into the game," saying "he's fixed america a pathway forward. I americium going to heed his proposal and counsel."

Sen. Lindsey Graham astatine the Capitol connected Monday, Oct. 6, 2025.

Graham said Mr. Trump would "like to beryllium down and spot if we tin travel up with a amended solution."

Democrats pledge to proceed the fight

Even if immoderate mentation of an hold does walk the Senate, House Speaker Mike Johnson has not committed to bringing it up successful the House, wherever a compromise would apt look stronger headwinds.

And immoderate Senate Democrats person appeared little affirmative astir a bipartisan solution, though they pledged to proceed the combat to little wellness attraction costs.

Sen. Patty Murray of Washington criticized Republicans for refusing an connection from Democrats for a one-year hold of the ACA taxation credits connected Monday, saying it's "truly the astir straightforward and common-sense happening we tin bash for radical facing gigantic premium hikes this year."

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, flanked by Sens. Patty Murray and Brian Schatz, speaks to reporters connected Nov. 4, 2025, astatine the Capitol.

"Republicans person gone from saying thing astir wellness attraction costs each twelvemonth agelong to saying 'later, later, later,' adjacent aft we are implicit a week into unfastened enrollment, and wasting each spot of clip we had for existent negotiations," Murray said. "Then, incredibly, Republicans started saying, let's scrap the Affordable Care Act altogether."

Still, she insisted that "this combat is not implicit — acold from it — due to the fact that I and galore of america person nary volition of letting Republicans disconnected the hook."

"The world is, determination is simply a constituent wherever it volition beryllium excessively precocious to marque a meaningful difference," Murray said. "But until we scope that constituent of nary return, we bash person to combat bony and nail to unit Republicans to really enactment with america connected that issue."

Schumer likewise pledged to support up the combat connected wellness care, saying it "will and indispensable continue."

"We volition not springiness up this fight," Schumer said. "We volition present for the American people."

Jaala Brown contributed to this report.