GOP centrists choose nuclear option in fight with Mike Johnson over Obamacare
By Sarah Ferris, Manu Raju, CNN
(CNN) — In a stunning blow to Speaker Mike Johnson, four GOP lawmakers on Wednesday agreed to back a Democratic push to extend pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies.
Those four GOP centrists — New York Rep. Mike Lawler and Pennsylvania Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mackenzie and Rob Bresnahan — have officially opted for what they have been describing as the nuclear option.
By signing onto Democrats’ procedural maneuver to force a floor vote on their proposed three-year extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries now has the 218 signatures needed guarantee a vote under discharge petition rules. That floor vote cannot be forced until January, however, under those same rules.
Those same four centrists have criticized Democrat’ plan as flawed. But in a sign of desperation, the typically leadership-aligned centrists chose to defy Johnson and sign onto Democrats’ push rather than allow the enhanced subsidies to expire at year’s end.
This story is breaking and will be updated.
The-CNN-Wire
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