Speaker Johnson: Democrats Have Created A Red Herring With Health Care, “This Is A Very Simple Funding Fight”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) said Democrats are making health care subsidies a red herring in the shutdown fight in an interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” this morning.
SPEAKER MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): This is not about me, it’s about the American people. Let’s make something very clear. Let me predict what Senator Kelly is going to say on the show. He’s going to give you a long, impassioned speech about health care and how the subsidies are so important to make sure that people don’t die and all of this. Let me tell you something. This is not a health care fight. This is a very simple funding fight. It always was. They have created a red herring; the subsidies don’t expire until the end of the year. We were always planning to have the thoughtful debate and deliberation over that in the month of October and November before the subsidies expired. They know that they grabbed that issue from the end of the year and pulled it back into September to try to pretend like that was the issue. It never was. Now, let me say this about the subsidies. It needs a dramatic amount of reform if indeed they’re going to be extended, because as you know, there were no income caps. You have very wealthy people getting subsidized for health care. It was a COVID-era patchwork situation that the Democrats did on their own. And by the way, they voted to put the expiration date on it at the end of 2025. Right? They did that themselves. Why? Because they knew it would’ve been absurd to try to extend it any further. It has driven the cost of healthcare up dramatically. There’s no Hyde protections in that program. So, the point is, that is a very complicated issue. We have 535 members between the House and Senate. This is a deliberative legislative body. It takes a while to find consensus on an issue that complicated. They know that. So, they have grabbed onto that. It is a farce. It is a red herring. It is not the issue of today. Today, the issue is to get the government open again so that we don’t hurt our economy, hurt our national security, and hurt the American people who depend upon all these services. It’s plain and simple. It’s as simple as you outlined at the beginning of this interview. And I hope you’ll keep bringing these Senators back to that simple point.
