Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, warned that Democrats are holding the government hostage by refusing to back a clean funding bill unless Affordable Care Act subsidies and Medicaid expansions are protected, insisting such demands are driving the current shutdown standoff.
In an opinion piece published by The Wall Street Journal on Sunday, Roy accused Democrats of "playing politics" and said they lack any real campaign message aside from maximizing leverage in budget negotiations.
"I've been in Congress since 2019 and have waited six years for my party to have an opportunity to go on the offense on healthcare — and win," Roy wrote in the piece, which is titled, "This Is No Time to Go Wobbly on ObamaCare."
He added, "Should Congress extend enhanced subsidies for Obamacare that were established temporarily during [COVID-19]? It doesn't take a seasoned [politician] or savvy operative to know the answer is no. The jig is up, the pandemic is over, and my colleagues shouldn't blink in any other direction. Republicans must prove that we are for healthcare freedom and against socialized medicine."
Roy's comments come amid a fierce clash over how to fund the federal government after the expiration of its spending authority.
Republicans are pushing a short-term continuing resolution to restore funding without policy riders. Democrats insist any extension must include continued ACA premium tax credits and rollbacks of GOP-led Medicaid cuts.
Democrats also contend that Republicans are trying to defund healthcare benefits midstream, while some moderates in the party privately warn that a shutdown over insurance subsidies could backfire politically.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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