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‘No Republicans Willing to Negotiate’: Health Care Subsidy Deal in Doubt

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A portion of House and Senate Republicans would like to extend the Obamacare subsidies that expire on December 31, but an even larger portion would not. There is no consensus among Republicans in either chamber on how to move forward, and Democrats are complaining that Republicans are unwilling to negotiate to save the subsidies before the fast-approaching deadline — a feat that is being seen as increasingly unlikely.

“There are no Republicans willing to negotiate over this. None,” lamented U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), according to The Hill. “Where is Donald Trump? Where is the Republican leadership in the House or the Senate? None of them want to talk about health care assistance for American families.”

“They don’t want to talk to the Democrats about that,” added Warren, a member of the Senate Democratic leadership. “They want to go off an[d] engage in some fantasy conversation with each other about people who can afford to pay for health care. They have voted to cut health care, and they don’t want to reverse those cuts.”

READ MORE: Student’s Bible-Based Essay Grade Leads University to Put Instructor on Leave

If, as planned, the Obamacare subsidies expire, millions of Americans will see their monthly health care premiums skyrocket, in some cases by more than double.

While some Republicans have said they do want to extend the subsidies, a major issue is abortion.

Republicans want to put extra guardrails in place to ensure no federal funds pay for abortions, something Democrats say are already in place. The Hyde Amendment prohibits federal funding of abortion.

Senate Republican Majority Leader John Thune says for next week’s planned vote on health care, “we might not be far enough along on the bipartisan discussions.” And he warned, “there are some significant sticking points.”

Thune “highlighted an escalating fight over adding language to any bill extending the subsidies to ensure federal money is not spent on abortion care.”

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“Dealing with Hyde is a big issue, obviously, for both sides,” he said.

But Thune also insisted there is “a lot of interest” from Republicans, and “a lot of good ideas that go back to try and address what we think are some of the underlying problems with ObamaCare in the first place.”

He said that includes “affordability,” and that “premiums continue to escalate year over year, and we think that has a lot to do with the way it’s structured and how it incentivizes insurance companies to cover people.”

Rather than extending the subsidies, some Republicans want to give federal funds directly to Americans, for individual health care savings accounts, to help them pay for insurance. Funds from those accounts generally are not permitted to pay for insurance premiums.

Meanwhile, others see President Donald Trump as the major sticking point.

“Some Senators in both parties agree that the only path to an extension of some sort relies on heavy involvement from President Donald Trump,” Punchbowl News reported on Tuesday. “Trump, they argue, is more than capable of pushing enough Republicans to accept a compromise that stabilizes health care costs while preventing big GOP electoral losses next November.”

“I don’t think anything will pass without the president’s approval,” said Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD). “There’s lots of ideas out there. Let’s see if we can’t put something together and take it to him.”

U.S. Senator Angus King (I-ME) said it would “help” if Trump just told Republicans to “Make a deal.”

READ MORE: Trump Leaves Lawmakers in Limbo on Health Care Fix

 

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Ethics Committee Reveals Latest Republican to Come Under Review: Report

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The House Ethics Committee has reportedly announced that U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) is facing a review by the Office of Congressional Conduct.

The origin of the review was not been disclosed. Under committee rules, officials are prohibited from stating whether the matter constitutes a formal investigation or identifying its underlying cause. The Committee only stated that there is a “matter regarding Representative Nancy Mace.”

“The Committee notes that the mere fact of a referral or an extension, and the mandatory disclosure of such an extension and the name of the subject of the matter, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the Committee,” the Ethics Committee statement reads. It was posted to social media by congressional journalist Jamie Dupree.

The statement also says the committee will “announce its course of action in this matter on or before March 2, 2026.”

Congresswoman Mace is currently running for governor of South Carolina.

Earlier this month Mace warned that Republicans may lose control of the House, saying they have not “done enough” and could “do a lot more” to implement President Donald Trump’s agenda, The Hill reported.

 

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Republican Vows to Block Trump’s Greenland Push

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A prominent Republican lawmaker is vowing to thwart any attempt by President Donald Trump to acquire Greenland through force or financial means.

Speaking from Copenhagen as part of a bipartisan delegation of U.S. congressional lawmakers, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), told reporters it is “an important message for the people of the Kingdom of Denmark to understand” that the United States has “three separate but equal branches” of government.

Reminding them that under the U.S. Constitution it is Congress that controls spending, Senator Murkowski, who has broken ranks and stood up to President Trump at times, said, “In Congress, we have tools at our disposal under our constitutional authority that speaks specifically to the power of the purse through appropriations.”

She noted also that “Congress has a role. Certainly, when it comes to spending authorities, the Congress has a role in basically helping to facilitate the message that comes from our constituents, to be reflected in whether it’s legislation or appropriations, or actions or measures, that can indicate, again, the will of the Congress.”

READ MORE: Trump Dangles Another Insurrection Act Threat for Minnesota

The “vast majority” of Americans do not support the acquisition of Greenland, Senator Murkowski added, noting that “some 75 percent will say we do not think that that is a good idea.”

“Greenland needs to be viewed as our ally, not as an asset,” Murkowski also told reporters.

Politico reported that U.S. Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) “also took part in the visit by House and Senate lawmakers,” and “said he would push ahead with legislation to curb Trump’s power to act unilaterally.”

He also denied President Trump’s claims that Greenland is necessary to be owned by the U.S. for national security reasons.

“Are there real, pressing threats to the security of Greenland from China and Russia?” Coons said. “No, not today.”

READ MORE: With Shutdown Looming and Crises Growing Trump Heads Off for Long Mar-a-Lago Weekend

 

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Trump Dangles Another Insurrection Act Threat for Minnesota

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Just one day after threatening to invoke the Insurrection Act in Minnesota, which would allow him to unleash domestic military forces onto American streets, President Donald Trump once again on Friday hinted he would do so while suggesting he may be “forced” to take action.

Trump targeted Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, claiming they “don’t know what to do” after he deployed roughly 3,000 federal troops to the city.

“In Minnesota,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, “the Troublemakers, Agitators, and Insurrectionists are, in many cases, highly paid professionals.”

“The Governor and Mayor don’t know what to do, they have totally lost control, and our currently being rendered, USELESS! If, and when, I am forced to act, it will be solved, QUICKLY and EFFECTIVELY!”

The Guardian labeled Trump’s claims that protesters are paid as baseless.

Attorney Aaron Reichlin-Melnick wrote: “Note that the Trump admin hasn’t yet been able to produce evidence of a SINGLE ‘paid protestor.’ They’ve had total control of the FBI and the DOJ and ICE HSI and yet despite all of that, they can’t even find ONE person who they can accuse of being paid to protest.”

Separately, The Steady State, a group of over 365 former national security officials, while not referring to Trump’s remarks from Friday morning, noted that the Insurrection Act is “an extraordinary power meant for true emergencies, not a shield for unconstitutional policing. Using it to silence dissent or justify unlawful paramilitary activity at the hand of ICE undermines the rule of law.”

READ MORE: With Shutdown Looming and Crises Growing Trump Heads Off for Long Mar-a-Lago Weekend

 

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