Hakeem Jeffries Vows To 'Pressure' Senate Republicans To Extend Obamacare Subsidies, 'Do The Right Thing'

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) said Sunday he is confident the House will pass a three-year extension of expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits "with a bipartisan majority," even as Senate Republicans signal resistance and the clock ticks toward steep premium hikes for millions of Americans.

Jeffries Predicts Bipartisan Support For Subsidy Extension

On ABC's "This Week," Jeffries said House Democrats will keep pressing to renew the enhanced subsidies, which were expanded during the pandemic and are set to lapse on Dec. 31.

"House Democrats are going to continue to fight to get this extension through the Congress on our side. It will pass, with a bipartisan majority," he said, adding that he would "put the pressure on John Thune (R-S.D.) and Senate Republicans to actually do the right thing … so we can keep health care affordable for tens of millions of Americans."

House Maneuvers Force Vote Despite GOP Leaders

The comments come after four House Republicans joined a Democratic discharge petition last week to force a January vote on a clean three-year extension, defying Speaker Mike Johnson and GOP leaders who advanced their own health bill that omits the credits, according to an Associated Press report.

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Senate Republicans last week blocked legislation to extend the subsidies, effectively guaranteeing higher 2026 costs unless Congress acts. A separate Reuters/Ipsos poll earlier this month found a narrow majority of Americans favor keeping the aid.

GOP Critics Warn Subsidies Distort Health Markets

Enhanced ACA premium tax credits, first introduced in 2021 and extended through 2025 by the Inflation Reduction Act, have helped more than 19–22 million people afford marketplace coverage, according to KFF and federal data.

Without renewal, KFF estimates average annual premium payments for subsidized enrollees would more than double in 2026, from about $888 to roughly $1,900.

Republicans opposed to an extension argue the subsidies are expensive and distort the private market.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has promoted alternatives like Association Health Plans and said in a separate interview with ABC News on Sunday, "Obamacare has been a failure… Every time we give more subsidies, the premiums go higher," while other conservatives want to redirect ACA funds directly to consumers or health savings accounts.

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