Screenshot via SiriusXM/Mediaite
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) went off on his fellow House Republicans after a closed-door meeting, accusing them of “political malpractice” for allowing Affordable Care Act subsidies to expire at the end of the year.
“I am pissed for the American people. This is bulls**t,” Lawler told Politico after the Tuesday meeting.
The Republican lawmaker called it “idiotic” not to have an “up or down” vote on extending the subsidies.
“It is political malpractice,” he said.
Lawler is also not aligned with leadership on the other side of the aisle, accusing House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) of wanting the subsidies to expire so Democrats can use healthcare as a key issue in the midterm elections.
“They want to kill it. They want the issue,” Lawler said. “That’s why Chuck Schumer put a nonsensical three-year vote on the floor of the Senate when given an opportunity.”
Lawler also said he’s open to supporting a Democratic-led discharge petition, which would force a vote on extending the subsidies, which are set to expire on December 31.
House Majority Leader Mike Johnson (D-LA) confirmed to reporters on Tuesday that there will be no vote on ACA subsidies. He also responded to Lawler by praising the lawmaker, calling him a “dear friend and close colleague.”
“Many of them did want to vote on this Obamacare Covid-era subsidy the Democrats created,” he said. “We looked for a way to try to allow for that pressure release valve, and it just was not to be.”
Johnson said lawmakers were working on an amendment over the weekend, but an agreement wasn’t made.
“There’s about a dozen members in the conference that are in these swing districts who are fighting hard to make sure they reduce costs for all of their constituents. And many of them did want to vote on this Obamacare Covid-era subsidy that Democrats created,” he said. “We looked for a way to try to allow for that pressure release valve, and it just was not to be. We worked on it all the way through the weekend, in fact. And in the end there was not an agreement — it wasn’t made.”
