Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, left, and Mike Lawler, right, were among the House Republicans spearheading a discharge petition on expiring Obamacare subsidies despite objections from Speaker Mike Johnson, center, to such a move. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images; Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images; Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Those moderates eventually voted in favor of passing the legislation at hand before marching to the front of the House chamber to file their discharge petition. They lined up one by one to sign the document that would move their healthcare agenda full steam ahead despite Johnson signaling little appetite to entertain it.
So far, the petition has support from six House Republicans and two Democrats but is expected to grow in numbers as the clock ticks on the looming healthcare cost cliff awaiting millions across the country.
"We know we need a temporary extension of the tax credits — with reforms — and then we can do more serious things, but we're not gonna do serious changes to the [Affordable Care Act] in the next two or three weeks," Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., one of the signatories, told Fox News Digital. "So, we just felt like, since there doesn't seem to be any impetus to do this, we're gonna try to force the issue."
DEMS PULL OUT ALL THE STOPS TO KEEP OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES FIGHT ALIVE AFTER VOTE TO REOPEN GOVERNMENT
Asked if he believed they would get House GOP leaders' blessing, Bacon said, "Probably not."
Fitzpatrick's bill is aimed at advancing a two-year extension of Obamacare subsidies that Democrats expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Democrats in Congress voted twice during the pandemic to expand the availability of premium tax credits for Obamacare, also called the Affordable Care Act (ACA), to make sure more Americans had access to healthcare coverage.
Rep. Jared Golden attends a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center in Washington July 17, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Asked if his leaders would back it, Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, said, "Go ask them. But I think they ought to."
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Johnson, for his part, told reporters discharge petitions were "typically used as a tool against the majority" but said he was "very sympathetic" to moderate Republicans' concerns.
"We have spent many, many hours trying to find a way out of the conundrum that we're in. With regard to those extensions, there's a lot of people who are very concerned about Obamacare and the fact that the subsidies were created by Democrats for COVID-era limited use," Johnson said.
"We just can't get Republican votes on that for lots of reasons, not enough of them. And, so, look, my colleagues have made a decision. I don't take it against them personally, I don't operate that way. I have great respect for those guys, I understand the situation they're in for their districts, and we'll see how it plays out."
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/moderate-republicans-stage-obamacare-rebellion-health-cost-frustrations-erupt-house