House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries grew visibly upset at a CNBC host this week as she pressed him over extending taxpayer-provided subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, more commonly known as “Obamacare,” which was passed without any Republican support during then-President Barack Obama’s first term.
On Friday, Jeffries got into a heated debate with CNBC host Becky Quick on Friday while discussing the state of the subsidies, which House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the GOP majority would begin working on after the recent Democrat-induced government shutdown ended.
“Let’s not go back to what’s done in the past, and what’s not been extended. If you want something to get done, you NEED to do something bipartisan,” Quick said to a visibly frustrated Jeffries, who immediately pivoted to blaming Republicans though Democrats, when they controlled Congress under then-President Joe Biden, implemented the provision sunsetting subsidies on December 1.
“I don’t think you want to get a deal done. I think this is something where you’d like to see the rates go higher and allow Republicans to hang themselves with it,” Quick finally said to Jeffries.
“That is a ridiculous assertion! Shame on you!” Jeffries shot back.
House Speaker Mike Johnson lashed out at Democrats last month for creating the healthcare crisis they were using to demand more than a trillion dollars in new spending to reopen the goverment, much of which would be used to continue subsidizing “Obamacare” medical premiums.
At a press conference, Johnson addressed the subsidies and blamed Democrats for using them as leverage to reopen the government.
“It is the Democrats who created Obamacare. It is the Democrats who did that without any Republican votes” during then-President Barack Obama’s first term, Johnson said.
“It’s the Democrats who by extension have cost the American taxpayers and people who have health insurance, have made their costs skyrocket,” he added.
“It is their policies that made that happen. And instead of reforming it, the Democrats don’t reform Obamacare. They want to subsidize it. They want to spend more taxpayer dollars,” he continued.
“That, by the way, goes mostly to insurance companies, which makes the cost rise further. That’s the Democrats’ plan,” he said. “When they passed Obamacare in 2010, they called it the ‘Affordable Care Act.’ We know the truth is exactly the opposite. By some estimates, premiums have risen 60 percent.”
“Republicans are the ones fighting to save healthcare. Why? It’s not just talking points to us. We do this. We have ideas and we have already implemented ideas and measures to reduce costs, increase access and quality, and eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse,” Johnson continued.
“We got millions of ineligible enrollees off the program and it preserved it. It strengthened Medicaid for the people who rely upon it, which is the elderly, disabled, and young pregnant women, as we always use an example,” he added.
“No, [the shutdown] is not about healthcare. That is a false claim and everybody knows it. Everyone in America, and certainly everybody in this room, understands that this is about something else. It’s about FEAR [of the radical left],” he added.
