Maroc - RAWSTORY.COM - Raw Story - 09/Oct 22:34

More Republicans break party ranks: 'MTG was right'

WASHINGTON — In the unusual world of Congress during a shutdown, far-right firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has emerged as an unlikely ally of Democrats, seeking to save millions of Americans from spiraling health care costs. And she's not the only Republican making such an admission. The government shutdown comes as Republicans call for a "clean" continuing resolution that funds the government as it stands. However, at the end of 2025, the subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, or ACA, will expire. Democrats want a deal to continue the subsidies, but according to Punchbowl News founder Jake Sherman, "Republicans do not want to extend these Obamacare premium tax credits at all, period."Democrats may agree with Greene that subsidies help fund costly healthcare premiums, but they aren't welcoming her with open arms quite yet, with Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) making a dig at her online, writing, "Even a broken clock is right twice a day.""Nothing she does surprises me," Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) told Raw Story on Thursday. "For a change, she's using common sense."Some Republicans, too, agree with Greene and the Democrats on extending the subsidies.When speaking to Senate Republicans who remain on Capitol Hill during the shutdown, Raw Story found more strange bedfellows generated by increasing voter support for tax breaks on healthcare costs. Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said that the Affordable Care Act is "important to a lot of us, not just to Democrats." She agreed that the subsidies should be extended, though she would like to see some reform. She didn't specify what. "But the sooner we can get an appropriations bill through, the better off we're going to be," she said. "There are many discussions going on, and I have been in very close contact with Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), who is very constructive and is trying to find a path forward.Collins refused to answer about being in a coalition with Greene. Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) told Raw Story that he became the second Republican speaker of the North Carolina state House since the Civil War because he "was convinced" that former President Barack Obama "was going to make a bad healthcare decision."Now, he appears to have evolved. "We will be making a bad healthcare decision if we don't help — all we're really trying to do is reduce the waste and abuse," he told Raw Story, noting that it should be a tax cut that nixes high-income wage earners. "I do think there should be skin in the game for people that have means."Ultimately, he confessed that "MTG is right" and noted that only "a handful of members" want to see the subsidies expire. That isn't what reporters are hearing on the House side, however. One of those who opposes the subsidies is Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), who told Raw Story that "Obamacare totally failed" and Republicans want to "fix it," but "the way to fix it is not to throw more money at it." He went on to call the subsidies "a massive fraud" that "won't fix the problem."The Kaiser Family Foundation reported that in 2025, "18.7 million (77%) of the total 24.3 million ACA Marketplace enrollees live in states President Trump won in the 2024 election."