Copyright Anchorage Daily News
President Donald Trump on Saturday urged Senate Republicans to redirect funding for Affordable Care Act subsidies away from health insurers and toward average Americans, his latest gambit to pressure Democrats as a government shutdown snarls air traffic, leaves food stamp benefits in limbo and furloughs roughly 650,000 federal workers. The Senate remained at an impasse on Saturday, a day after Republicans rejected a Democratic proposal that would have extended ACA subsidies - a key sticking point in negotiations - for a year while reopening the government. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) said he would keep the chamber in session until there is an agreement to reopen the government. He continued to insist that any action to address health care costs, including Trump’s proposal, would have to be after the Senate resumes funding. Trump’s demand to send funds directly to Americans, which would require an act of Congress, met immediate resistance from some Democrats and would face serious legislative headwinds given lawmakers’ inability to reach consensus on much smaller changes to the health law. Trump, in a Truth Social post Saturday, criticized the health law, commonly known as Obamacare, when offering his proposal. “I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE, and have money left over,” Trump wrote. During the 39-day shutdown, which is expected to shave billions of dollars off the United States’ annual economic output, 42 million consumers who rely on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits have also been left in a lurch. The Trump administration had been preparing to comply with a judge’s ruling to release November benefits in full on Friday. But the Supreme Court Friday night paused, for now, that order until a federal appeals court could weigh in. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) on Saturday blasted the administration for appealing the decision to the Supreme Court, saying in a floor speech that the administration “is viciously cruel and will use anybody [as a] hostage.” He also accused the administration of attempting to use flight cancellations as leverage in negotiations, calling the Transportation Department’s plan to gradually reduce air traffic to maintain safety during the shutdown “a stunt.” Schumer added that the Democratic caucus’s offer on keeping extra Obamacare subsidies in place “is something many Republicans themselves have said they want.” Moderate senators have continued to have bipartisan discussions into the weekend to find a path that satisfies Democratic demands on extending extra ACA subsidies, which were expanded in 2021 during the pandemic but are set to expire at the end of the year. Many Republicans have argued that the extra money creates incentives for fraud and inflates health care spending. Thune has offered to hold a vote on legislation to extend the subsidies after Democrats agree to reopen the government, but many Democrats are wary because it’s unclear whether such a bill would pass the Senate. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) has not committed to holding a similar vote, and it’s unclear if Trump would sign such a bill. Some 24 million Americans rely on the federal marketplace Healthcare.gov to buy insurance, and already the average benchmark monthly premium is spiking about 26 percent for 2026. The president’s idea was swiftly lauded by several Senate Republicans, and Sen. Rick Scott (R-Florida) said on Saturday morning that he was writing a bill spurred by Trump’s request. Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Connecticut), who sits on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, called Trump’s idea “nonsensical.” “Is he suggesting eliminating health insurance and giving people a few thousand dollars instead? And then when they get a cancer diagnosis they just go bankrupt? He is so unserious,” Murphy wrote on X. “That’s why we are shut down and Americans know it.” Democrats have warned that some Americans are preparing to go without health-insurance coverage, given the subsidies’ uncertain fate and a spike in premiums. “If we truly want to help these people, Republicans need to work with us as fast as possible to pass this clean, one-year extension,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Washington) said on the Senate floor. “Every day that passes, this damage gets worse - and, by the way, harder to reverse.” Health policy experts had a mixed reaction to Trump’s proposal, with some left-leaning economists and public health leaders dismissing it as unworkable, and others raising questions, too. Michael Cannon, director of health policy studies at the libertarian Cato Institute, posted on X that Trump’s proposal was “a very bad idea” because it would not curb federal spending and only redirect taxpayer funds to other parts of the health care industry. Brian Blase, who leads the conservative-leaning Paragon Health Institute and has briefed congressional Republicans on how to approach changes to the ACA, applauded the president’s statement, arguing it would give lower-income Americans more options. Paragon Health Institute has proposed allowing ACA exchange enrollees to put federal funding toward health savings accounts. Meanwhile, more than 1,000 flights into or out of U.S. airports were canceled, a slight increase from Friday night, while 4,000 were delayed, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flight disruptions. Those numbers are expected to increase as 40 of the country’s busiest airlines further reduce their departures over the next week. [Travelers face cancellations and frustration as airlines cut flights to comply with FAA’s shutdown order] The problems at airports come after an emergency order by the Federal Aviation Administration to reduce the number of flights to cut strain on the country’s air traffic controllers, most of whom are working mandatory overtime six days a week during the shutdown without pay. On social media Saturday, Duffy blamed Democrats for the reductions in air travel and urged Americans to reach out to Democratic members of Congress. Duffy added that private jet travel is also being restricted, and the administration has reduced its volume at high-traffic airports and redirected them to smaller airports or airfields. “That’s only fair,” he wrote. - - -
