{"id":2538928,"date":"2026-01-16T06:15:01","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T11:15:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/discharge-petition-gets-biggest-win-yet-on-obamacare-subsidies-vote\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T06:18:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T11:18:25","slug":"discharge-petition-gets-biggest-win-yet-on-obamacare-subsidies-vote","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/discharge-petition-gets-biggest-win-yet-on-obamacare-subsidies-vote\/","title":{"rendered":"Discharge petition gets biggest win yet on Obamacare subsidies vote"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdischarge-petition-gets-biggest-win-yet-on-obamacare-subsidies-vote%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2538928&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A bipartisan procedural maneuver forced the House to extend temporary, COVID-era Obamacare premium subsidies for three years after they had expired at the end of last year. On Jan. 8 the House approved the extension 230-196, with 213 Democrats and 17 Republicans voting in favor. The action followed a prosperous discharge petition &#8211; signed by a majority of members including four initial Republicans who joined Democrats &#8211; that compelled the Rules Committee to release debate and set up a floor vote.<\/p>\n<p>The move represented a rebuke to Speaker Mike Johnson,who had previously blocked democrats&#8217; efforts to bring the issue to the floor. Several Republicans from swing districts said they backed the petition and the final vote to avoid immediate premium increases for constituents, even as they criticized the subsidies as overly broad and urged more targeted reforms. Conservative members, including the House freedom Caucus, strongly opposed extending the subsidies.<\/p>\n<p>This was the fourth successful discharge petition as January 2025, an unusually high number by ancient standards and a sign of the fragility of a narrow House majority. It remains uncertain whether the Senate will pass the bill or whether the president would sign it. The article was writen by Kevin R. Kosar of the American Enterprise Institute.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Legislative tool to circumvent House leadership gets biggest win yet on Obamacare subsidies vote<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2446928\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/congress\/\">Congress<\/a> returned to work in Washington, and one of the first issues lawmakers addressed was government health insurance subsidies. These temporary, emergency subsidies were first enacted during the coronavirus pandemic and expired at the end of last year. On Jan. 8, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/clerk.house.gov\/Votes\/202611\">213 Democrats and 17 Republicans<\/a> voted to <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4411842\/house-votes-renew-obamacare-subsidies-blow-gop-leaders\/\">extend<\/a> the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/restoring-america\/community-family\/4412118\/congressional-debate-obamacare-subsidies-sidesteps-deep-drivers-medical-inflation\/\">Obamacare subsidies<\/a> for three years.<\/p>\n<p>This was a surprising development. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/mike-johnson\/\">Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA)<\/a> spent much of the autumn blocking Democrats from forcing a vote in the House of Representatives to extend the life of government subsidies for people who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/biden-justice-dept-asks-supreme-court-to-save-obamacare\/\" title=\"Biden Justice Dept. Asks Supreme Court to Save ...\">buy health insurance<\/a>. Democrats, for their part, forced a lengthy government shutdown to force the speaker&rsquo;s hand, which did not succeed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4421260\/house-democrats-hopes-raised-nonpartisan-index-shifts-18-seats\/\">House Democrats&#8217; hopes buoyed after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nonpartisan-index-hands-democrats-new-years-present-with-18-rating-shifts\/\" title=\"Nonpartisan index hands Democrats New ...&#039;s present with 18 rating shifts\">nonpartisan index shifts 18 seats<\/a> toward blue<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/4420322\/candidates-flock-bid-marjorie-taylor-greene-house-seat-georgia\/\">Twenty-two candidates flock to make bids for Marjorie Taylor Greene&#8217;s House seat<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4420004\/teamsters-backs-dan-goldman-over-brad-lander-incumbent-campaign-launch\/\">Teamsters backs Goldman over Lander after incumbent launched campaign<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>But what a government shutdown could not achieve, a bipartisan parliamentary maneuver has done. First, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/clerk.house.gov\/DischargePetition\/2025111210\">four Republicans<\/a> joined 214 Democrats in signing a discharge petition introduced by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) shortly before Congress left the Capitol for a holiday hiatus.<\/p>\n<p>Under <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/crs-product\/R45920\">House rules<\/a>, 218 legislators, a majority, can use a discharge petition to force a bill to a floor vote. Discharge Petition 10 required the potent House Rules Committee, which works closely with the speaker, to let go of <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/119th-congress\/house-resolution\/780\/text\">House Resolution 780<\/a>, which set the rules for debating, amending, and voting on the Obamacare subsidy legislation.<\/p>\n<p>Once a majority votes for a petition, a clock starts. House Rule XV requires seven legislative days to pass before a legislator may call for a vote. Once that happens, the speaker must then set the vote within two days.<\/p>\n<p>The clock expired on Jan. 6, the very first day the House of Representatives reconvened. Jeffries motioned for a vote, and Johnson scheduled the vote for the next day. Some 224 legislators, including 11 Republicans, voted to approve the rule. That paved the way for the extension of the Obamacare subsidies the next day, which passed <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/clerk.house.gov\/Votes\/202611\">230-196<\/a>, with 17 Republicans in support.<\/p>\n<p>It was a stunning reversal of fortune for the speaker. But it is not difficult to see why it happened. GOP members from swing districts are facing challenging reelections as voters sour on President Donald Trump and Republicans. These legislators felt they had to vote for a healthcare bill to protect their seats and preserve their party&rsquo;s majority.<\/p>\n<p>Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Rob Bresnahan (R-PA), and Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) were the first GOP legislators to break with the speaker when they signed Discharge Petition 10. Each of them expressed concern that voters who saw their healthcare premiums increase would take it out on them.<\/p>\n<p>Lawler <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/lawler.house.gov\/news\/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5208\">said<\/a> he signed the petition &ldquo;to force a vote and <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >prevent higher health care costs<\/a> for families in the Hudson Valley. Allowing the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/tiana-lowe-doescher-projects-shutdown-layoffs-to-be-good-threat-to-democrats-in-deadlock\/\" title=\"Tiana Lowe Doescher projects shutdown layoffs to be \u2018good threat\u2019 to Democrats in deadlock\">enhanced premium tax credits<\/a> to expire would mean immediate premium hikes for working families, seniors, and small business owners in NY-17.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>That vote, Lawler explained, did not mean he was a fan of the subsidies policy. He called it overly broad and advocated passing a more targeted healthcare subsidies bill that was less expensive and more targeted to the truly needy.<\/p>\n<p>Lawler also <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/lawler.house.gov\/news\/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5208\">expressed his exasperation<\/a> at Republicans&rsquo; failure to pass their own legislation. They have known since they arrived in January 2025 that the subsidies would expire. Yet the House did not pass a healthcare fix.<\/p>\n<p>Fitzpatrick also fumed at the inaction. He introduced <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/fitzpatrick.house.gov\/2025\/12\/fitzpatrick-leads-bipartisan-action-to-prevent-aca-premium-spikes-and-protect-affordable-healthcare\">his own bill<\/a> in December 2025 to prevent healthcare premiums from sharply rising, and then he filed <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/clerk.house.gov\/DischargePetition\/2025121012?Page=2\">a discharge petition<\/a> to try to force a vote. His petition drew support from Republicans and Democrats but did not get enough signatures, so he subsequently joined Jeffries&rsquo;s petition in hopes of forcing debate and a vote. &ldquo;When leadership blocks action entirely, Congress has a responsibility to act. My priority is ensuring Hudson Valley families aren&rsquo;t caught in the gridlock,&rdquo; Lawler <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/lawler.house.gov\/news\/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=5208\">said<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Unsurprisingly, some Republicans denounced them for putting their names on a Democrat&rsquo;s petition, and members of the House Freedom Caucus have been <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepAndyHarrisMD\/status\/2003128458164273324\">particularly critical<\/a> of extending the subsidies. They have been trying to wrangle sufficient votes to abolish and replace Obamacare. &ldquo;We should NOT be throwing more money at Obamacare, which is rife with fraud. We have to let Biden&rsquo;s COVID-era subsidies EXPIRE,&rdquo; Rep. Keith Self (R-TX) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepKeithSelf\/status\/1996264180383371372\">posted<\/a> on <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/x.com\">X<\/a>. Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/RepRalphNorman\/status\/1997743321830351130\">groused<\/a>, &ldquo;Obamacare promised affordable care. Instead, families are stuck with soaring premiums, shrinking networks, and Washington red tape. America deserves a patient-centered system, NOT a government-centered one.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>This is the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/clerk.house.gov\/DischargePetition\/2025111210\">fourth discharge petition<\/a> that has garnered the requisite 218 signatures since January 2025. Votes have also been forced on bottled-up legislation to allow pregnant legislators to vote remotely, override Trump&rsquo;s executive order removing union rights from certain federal employees, and to release the government&rsquo;s files relating to Jeffrey Epstein. The House has not had four successful discharge petitions <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/bsky.app\/profile\/sarahbinder.bsky.social\/post\/3ma7gb5nu3k2p\">since the Congress of 1937-1938<\/a>, George Washington University professor Sarah Binder notes.<\/p>\n<p>Johnson shrugged off the development and <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=qNqSzzueXD4\">fended off the <\/a>media who asked if it was a sign that he had lost control of the House. &ldquo;Look, we have the smallest majority in U.S. history. &hellip; There are processes and procedures in the House that are less frequently used when there are larger majorities.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>He is not wrong. The discharge petition has been a House rule for a century, and a narrow partisan majority makes it easier for a unified, large partisan minority to peel off a few majority votes to advance a discharge petition. And the majorities in the House have been <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2023\/05\/05\/narrow-majorities-in-u-s-house-have-become-more-common-but-havent-always-led-to-gridlock\/\">very small in the past few decades<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Yet, narrow majorities are not the whole of the story, as Catholic University professor Matthew Green <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/misofact.substack.com\/p\/discharge-petitions-and-the-fragile\">explains<\/a>. Between the years 2000 and 2023, there frequently were narrow majorities, yet only two petitions got 218 signees during that period: the bill that became the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law and the legislation reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank in 2015.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The current success of discharge petitions,&rdquo; Green writes, &ldquo;follows years of Republicans defying their leaders on petitions and doing so with impunity.&rdquo; Discharge petitions succeed when a majority contains factions that are willing to buck the speaker. Democrats experienced something similar in the 1970s when their own dissidents used petitions to force legislation onto the House&rsquo;s agenda.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4410450\/four-takeaways-house-oversight-minnesota-fraud-hearing\/\">FOUR TAKEAWAYS FROM HOUSE OVERSIGHT&rsquo;S HEATED MINNESOTA FRAUD HEARING<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>It is unclear whether the Senate will approve the legislation. Last year, the Senate shot down a bill proposing a three-year extension of the Obamacare subsidies. Nor is it certain that Trump would sign the bill.<\/p>\n<p>But these dissident Republicans will have achieved their goal: showing their home district voters they tried. Whether voters will spare them in November remains to be seen.<\/p>\n<p><em>Kevin R. Kosar (<\/em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/kevinrkosar\"><em>@kevinrkosar<\/em><\/a><em>) is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and edits<\/em> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/understandingcongress.org\/\"><em>UnderstandingCongress.org<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Discharge petition forces vote to extend ACA subsidies<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3532,"featured_media":2538929,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/WB.Congress.012126.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[4402,59254,70248,4762,12589],"class_list":["post-2538928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner","tag-congress","tag-discharge-petition","tag-healthcare-subsidies","tag-legislation","tag-obamacare"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/WB.Congress.012126.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2538928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3532"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2538928"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2538928\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2538932,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2538928\/revisions\/2538932"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2538929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2538928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2538928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2538928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}