House Republicans Take a Stab at a Healthcare Plan

Johnson discussed healthcare plans with GOP leaders on Friday.
Sipa USA
By Yuval Rosenberg and Michael Rainey

It's Friday! Congress has one work week left in 2025, and House Republican leaders are hoping to make the most of it. Here's what you should know as we head into the weekend.

House Republicans Take a Stab at a Healthcare Plan

After the Senate failed to advance a pair of dueling healthcare plans yesterday, House Republican leaders on Friday rushed to release a healthcare package of their own ahead of a planned floor vote in their chamber next week - and they reportedly will allow GOP moderates an amendment vote to extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies set to expire at the end of the month.

The core House Republican plan, titled the "Lower Health Care Premiums for All Americans Act," does not include an extension of those subsidies but instead seeks to lower costs in other ways. Those include an expansion of association health plans, which let employers unite to buy coverage, and "cost-sharing reduction" payments to help low-income enrollees afford Obamacare plans. The package reportedly also requires more transparency from pharmacy benefit managers and a provision meant to expand small business access to self-insured plans.

The House GOP plan does not include a Senate Republican proposal to redirect funding for the enhanced ACA subsidies into prefunded health savings accounts with $1,000 or $1,500. And it does not address the expiring Obamacare tax credits. The House Republican conference is deeply divided over those subsidies, with conservatives vehemently opposed to any measure in support of a health law they have long despised and moderates eager to prevent millions of Americans from seeing their premium payments spike - and to avoid the political pain that might bring for the GOP.

The path ahead remains highly uncertain. While moderate Republicans and Democrats support extending the subsidies, an amendment vote may not pass, as Democrats are still angling for a clean extension without the reforms Republicans are seeking. Democrats may prefer to pursue an extension of the subsidies via either of two discharge petitions that would force votes on bills that don't include the GOP leadership's provisions - or they may choose to use the issue as a cudgel against Republicans over the coming year. As of Thursday, Democratic leaders reportedly were still deciding whether to support either discharge petition push.

"Republicans leaders ultimately expect the extension vote to fail, resulting in skyrocketing premiums for millions of Americans when the subsidies expire at the end of the year," Politico notes.

If an amendment to extend the subsidies does get adopted, it may threaten the chances for the broader GOP package to pass. Any plan that gets through the House would also have to clear the Senate, where a 60-vote threshold means Democratic support would be needed.

The bottom line: House Republicans are giving themselves the chance to say they tried to do something to address healthcare costs, but the ACA subsidies still appear likely to expire within days. As we said above, Congress has just one work week left in 2025.

Trump Names Top Two Candidates to Lead the Fed

President Trump said Friday he has two leading candidates to lead the Federal Reserve when current Chair Jerome Powell's term ends in May: former Fed governor Kevin Warsh and National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett.

Trump said last month he had already picked his candidate, with Hassett seen as the favorite, but Warsh's name has returned to the mix in recent days, indicating that the decision is still up in the air.

"I think you have Kevin and Kevin," Trump told The Wall Street Journal. "They're both-I think the two Kevins are great."

Whoever takes the post will be under pressure to cut the Fed's benchmark interest rate quickly, something Trump has been pushing for all year. Trump said he thinks the Fed chief should consult him before making any decisions, a significant change from the current mode of operation, which seeks to insulate the central bank from political influence.

"Typically, that's not done anymore. It used to be done routinely. It should be done," Trump said. "It doesn't mean - I don't think he should do exactly what we say. But certainly we're - I'm a smart voice and should be listened to."

Asked how low he would like to see interest rates go, Trump made it clear he wants the new Fed chief to be aggressive. Rates should be "1% and maybe lower than that," Trump said. "We should have the lowest rate in the world."

This week, the Fed lowered its benchmark rate to a range between 3.5% and 3.75%, and the current slate of central bank officials expects to execute just one more quarter-point rate cut over the next year.

Number of the Day: $1.1 Trillion

The cost of a Golden Dome system that protects the United States from an all-out aerial attack is projected to be around $1.1 trillion, according to a new analysis by Bloomberg. That's more than 500% higher than the Trump administration's estimate of $175 billion. Bloomberg also estimates that a more limited Golden Dome "designed to protect against an all-out attack from just one adversary, Russia," would cost $844.4 billion. Check out the detailed graphic and breakdown at Bloomberg.

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