Shutdown Fight Reopens Debate in G.O.P. Over Health Care [View all]
Source: New York Times
Oct. 19, 2025, 5:01 a.m. ET
The federal shutdown that is nearing its fourth week with no end in sight carries plenty of political risk for Democrats, who Republicans have accused of refusing to fulfill their responsibility to fund the government. But it has also thrust President Trump and the G.O.P. onto the defensive on health care, an issue that has long been a major weakness for the party.
Democrats in Congress are holding fast to their position that they will not agree to a spending deal unless Republicans include an extension of expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits that would stave off premium increases and the loss of coverage for millions of Americans. In doing so, they have forced the G.O.P. to wrestle publicly with its divisions about what to do with the health care law, which most Republicans revile but many recognize would be impossible to unravel without bringing political disaster to their party.
Some hard-line Republicans are still pressing to repeal Obamacare outright, while others concede it is unwise to do so without a clear plan of what to do instead — something that their party has long discussed but has never been able to agree upon. Mr. Trump, who told Republicans in 2023 to “never give up” in seeking to repeal the 2010 health law, has yet to clearly articulate what he favors instead.
For now, Republican leaders in Congress have mostly opted to try to change the conversation, insisting that they have a health care plan but declining to describe what it is.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/10/19/rubio-el-salvador-prison-bukele-ms13-informants/
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