Johnson denies he's 'lost control' of House after Republicans defy him to force vote on extending health care subsidies

Source: ABC News

December 17, 2025, 1:17 PM


House Speaker Mike Johnson denied he has "lost control of the House" after a group of moderate Republicans revolted and joined Democrats' effort to force a vote on a three-year extension of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies.

"We have the smallest majority in U.S. history, OK? These are not normal times. There are [processes] and procedures in the House that are less frequently used when there are larger majorities," Johnson said. "When you have a razor-thin margin, as we do, then all the procedures in the book people think are on the table, and that's the difference."

Johnson's assertion comes after four Republicans broke ranks and signed onto House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries' discharge petition, giving it the 218 signatures needed to force a vote though the vote is not likely to occur until January 2026 at the earliest. The decision by moderate Republican Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Mike Lawler, Rob Bresnahan and Ryan Mackenzie to join Democrats came after the Republican-controlled House Rules Committee on Tuesday night blocked amendments to extend the ACA subsidies from advancing.

Johnson has also resisted from allowing an up or down amendment vote on extending the expiring subsidies, which were Democrats' focal point of the record 43-day government shutdown this fall. Asked if he will allow a vote on the ACA extension in January, Johnson said, "Everybody stay tuned. We are having conversations."

Read more: https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/moderate-republicans-buck-leadership-back-democrat-effort-extend/story?id=128485292