Chuck Schumer slams GOP after Senate blocks ACA subsidies, warns of steep premium hikes
WASHINGTON, DC: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer tore into Republicans on Thursday, December 11, after most GOP senators rejected a Democratic proposal to extend Covid-era 'Affordable Care Act' subsidies.
“I want everyone here to understand just what happened on the Senate floor,” Schumer said moments after the failed vote. “Senate Republicans just shoved the American people off the side of a cliff with no parachute, with an anchor tied to their feet,” he said.
Calling the lapse of the enhanced subsidies a “crisis,” Schumer accused GOP leadership of “playing games” while premiums are set to spike without immediate action.
No bipartisan deal as Chuck Schumer blocks GOP push
Asked whether Democrats would consider a Republican compromise that includes new anti-fraud provisions, Schumer dismissed the idea, saying that the GOP opposition had already closed the door.
“Look, the Republicans voted against this 13 times. The onus is on them,” he said.
Instead of lowering premiums, Republicans chose instead to rip away healthcare funding, kick millions off insurance, and close rural hospitals.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) December 11, 2025
Why? So they could give their billionaire buddies a tax break.
Today, they’ll have an opportunity to do the right thing. The American…
Schumer also avoided commenting on a centrist House Republican effort to force action through a discharge petition. “I’m not going to prejudge what the House does,” he added.
The Democratic leader further suggested that his party would not push additional votes in January, remarking that by then “the toothpaste was out of the tube.”
Democratic proposal to extend Obamacare subsidies fails
The Senate on Thursday rejected a Democratic proposal to extend enhanced 'Affordable Care Act' tax credits for three more years, just weeks before the subsidies expire on January 1.
The measure failed 51-48, with four Republicans, Susan Collins, Josh Hawley, Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, joining Democrats, though the bill fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance.
Democrats have warned for months that allowing the subsidies to lapse will trigger steep premium hikes, with KFF estimating average monthly payments could more than double by about $1,000 and the Congressional Budget Office projecting roughly 2 million more uninsured Americans next year.
Republican alternative fails as party struggles for consensus
The Senate also rejected a GOP-backed health care plan in a 51-48 vote, with Sen Rand Paul joining Democrats in opposition.
The measure authored by Senate Finance Chair Mike Crapo and HELP Committee Chair Bill Cassidy needed 60 votes to advance.
As enhanced ACA subsidies near expiration at year’s end, Republicans have struggled to unify around a replacement proposal.
Their bill would temporarily direct federal funding into health savings accounts for lower-and middle-income Americans, and resume cost-sharing subsidies to help reduce premiums.
But it notably excluded the expanded tax credits Democrats want to preserve to avoid steep premium hikes. It also barred federal funds from being used for abortion or gender-affirming care, provisions Democrats blasted as ideological riders.
GOP lawmakers acknowledged before the vote that their proposal had little chance of passing, even as they criticized Democrats for what they called a “show vote” on the subsidy extension.
With both parties’ plans rejected, Congress faces growing pressure to act before enhanced ACA subsidies lapse, a move experts warn could price many Americans out of coverage.
