U.S. House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) speaks during a press conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 5, 2026.
Joe Radle | Getty Images
A Democratic-led effort to extend recently expired Obamacare subsidies cleared a procedural hurdle in the House of Representatives on Wednesday with the support of nine Republicans, setting up a final vote later this week.
The House of Representatives voted 221-205 in favor of a motion to repeal a bill that, if passed by the House and Senate, would extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced tax credits for health insurance plan participants for three years.
These tax credits were first implemented in 2021 under President Joe Biden as a pandemic-era relief package and expired at the end of 2025, raising premiums for millions of Americans.
Congressional Republicans, who have largely opposed extending the subsidies, are in a difficult position ahead of the 2026 midterm elections as Democrats seek to make health care and affordability central to their campaigns.
“The American people want us to address the affordability crisis,” Rep. Ted Lieu, vice chairman of the Democratic caucus, said at a news conference Wednesday before the vote.
“We know that health care costs are rising, food prices continue to rise, and electricity prices are rising in many areas,” Liu said. “And what is Donald Trump focused on? In his words, ‘running Venezuela.'”
The House is scheduled to vote on a fundamental measure to extend the ACA’s enhanced tax credits on Thursday.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-Danina, N.Y.) filed an expulsion petition in November after House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) refused to vote on extending the subsidy. Dismissal petitions are a procedural device that allows rank-and-file members to bypass leadership and force legislation through the floor with majority support.
Over Johnson’s objections, four moderate House Republicans signed the petition in December, pushing Jeffries’ effort past the 218-signature threshold.
His departure from the Republican Party was a blow to Mr. Johnson. Johnson’s authority was undermined last year by a series of successful discharge petitions, including one that forced him to release files on sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Senate uncertainty
But the outlook for enhanced ACA tax credits across Capitol Hill remains uncertain, and time is short.
The ACA’s open bid in most states ends on Jan. 15, but some lawmakers, including Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Congress could consider extending the election period if a solution isn’t achieved by the deadline.
In December, the Senate rejected a similar measure that would have extended the subsidies for three years. A second attempt at a three-year extension is not expected to be any more successful.
Instead, a bipartisan Senate task force is trying to find a compromise on the issue. Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio), one of the participants, said Wednesday that the House bill would likely die in the Senate, but would serve as a vehicle for lawmakers to amend the bill.
Moreno said they were in the “red zone,” adding that the working group could not afford to drag out negotiations for several more weeks. Punchbowl News reported Tuesday that moderates in the House and Senate are scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss strengthening the ACA tax credits.
Any deal would need to consider several issues that remain if it is to gain majority support in the Senate. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Tuesday that this includes addressing expanded $0 premiums in 2021 with enhanced ACA tax credits and creating a “bridge” to expanding access to health savings accounts, which has been a priority of President Trump.
“It’s about expanding HSAs to put more money in the pockets of the American people, the patients, the consumers, not the insurance companies,” Thune said.
Perhaps the biggest challenge revolves around the Hyde Amendment, a decades-old policy that prohibits the use of federal funds for most abortions, which pro-life groups and some Republicans want to strengthen.
At a House Republican meeting on Tuesday, President Trump told Congressional Republicans to be “flexible” on the Hyde Amendment, angering pro-life groups and a backlash from Republicans who staunchly oppose abortion.
“We have no federal funding for abortions,” Moreno said. “It’s a long-standing tradition and no one is trying to change it.”
–CNBC’s Karen Sloane contributed to this report.
