A group of four Republican lawmakers turned the tables on House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., on Wednesday.
The centrist defectors joined Democrats in the House, securing the 218 signatures needed to force a vote on extending ACA subsidies one day after Johnson scrapped the idea. Johnson’s decision to avoid a vote drew bipartisan criticism from lawmakers and the stunning reversal from his own caucus left him sputtering.
The lawmakers all hail from Eastern Pennsylvania or Southern New York. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., joined fellow Republicans Ryan Mackenzie and Rob Bresnahan in their breakaway cell. The group’s defection gave Democrats a significant boost in their effort to keep the subsidies from expiring for the next three years.
Following the break, Johnson was swarmed by reporters who asked whether he was losing his grip on the House. He initially refused to answer, but later downplayed the revolt to CNN.
“I have not lost control of the House,” Johnson said. “We have the smallest majority in US history. These are not normal times.”
Lawler blamed House leadership for leaving his group “with no option” but to sign on with the Democratic plan.
“If they don’t want that to pass, then they should be working to find an alternative vehicle,” Lawler said.
“We have a job to do and that’s to represent our people back home,” Fitzpatrick told CNN. “We’ve done our job and gotten it across the 218 threshold. It’s coming for a vote. It’s going to pass.”
With enough votes to force the issue, House Minority Speaker Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called for an immediate vote before the House recesses for the holidays.
“Mike Johnson should bring the bill to the floor immediately,” Jeffries said in a post on X.
Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., also called for an immediate vote, and said a similar vote in the Senate “should follow” in a video on X. Even if the vote passes the House, it faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where lawmakers remain deadlocked on a healthcare plan.
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