by Steven Richards
House Speaker Mike Johnson says he spoke to Georgia Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene after another Republican lawmaker’s criticism of their party over health care costs and Obamacare subsidies, which could expire at the end of the year as Congress is paralyzed by a government shutdown.
Johnson also said he offered Greene a seat on health care negotiations, which would likely quell her harsh criticism.
Said the speaker spoke to Greene on the phone last week to tell her that House Republicans are “working around the clock” to reduce rising health care costs after she repeatedly criticized her conference for failing to address the issue.
“I had an insightful conversation with her on the phone one evening.” Johnson told host Shannon Bream on “Fox News Sunday.”
Over the last week Greene expressed criticism of her fellow Republicans for failing to find a solution to the Obamacare tax breaks that expire at the end of the year. Democrats in Congress now want to secure the renewal of the subsidies in exchange for votes to reopen the government.
She criticized House leaders under Johnson for failing to find solutions.
“No Republican in leadership has spoken to us about this issue or given us a plan to help Americans deal with the DOUBLE of their health insurance premiums,” Greene wrote to X.
“The issue of subsidies is real. It is not something that can be said to be made up.” Greene said Hill last week. “Also, for people on regular or private plans, their premiums want to go up an average of 18 percent, which is brutal. I know a lot of small business owners, say a family of four, who pay $2,000 a month.”
She said Republicans “need to take this seriously and find a solution.”
Johnson relented in an interview Sunday, saying Republicans had “literally hundreds of ideas on the table” to lower health care prices, but said Democrats’ vote against the government reopening funding bills was an obstacle to their plans.
The speaker also proposed including Greene on committees negotiating health care subsidies with Democrats so that her point of view would be heard.
“Marjorie doesn’t sit on these committees, so I offered to come on the floor and participate in the discussion if she really wanted to,” Johnson said.
Monday marks the 13th day of the government shutdown after Republicans and Democrats in the Senate failed to reach an agreement on a resolution to continue government work. The health care debate centers around the Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax breaks that President Joe Biden passed in 2021. These tax breaks have helped lower the price of the monthly costs of ACA Marketplace plans.
Democrats would like to expand these tax breaks, while Republicans would not. Vice President J.D. Vance said these tax breaks are not a good exploit of taxpayers’ money.
“The tax breaks go to some people in a way that is deserved. We believe that the tax breaks actually cause a lot of waste and fraud in the insurance industry. That’s why we want to make sure that the tax breaks go to the people who need them,” Vance said Challenge the Nation.
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Steven Richards is a reporter for Just the News. Zachery Schmidt is a digital editor Star News Network and contributed to this story.
