Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., arrives for the Senate Republican leadership elections at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Nov. 13, 2024. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Trump’s silence on legislative affairs doesn’t just extend to healthcare. Lawmakers have received little word from the White House in recent months on issues like codifying cuts to government spending, the potential for a second reconciliation package and legislation on affordability.
To Rep. Aaron Bean, R-Fla., the chair of the once hyperactive House DOGE Caucus, that doesn’t mean Trump is absent.
"That’s not my perception," Bean said when asked if Trump had pulled off a disappearing act. "He’s been there. His people are here; they’re in the room — they were here tonight."
Although Trump’s direction may ultimately prove necessary to bring the party together on any of those topics, Republicans across both chambers of Congress believe the president is giving legislators latitude to work on key issues while staying plugged in behind the scenes.
Trump’s hands-off approach comes as lawmakers wrestle with whether to extend COVID-19-era federal subsidies used by the vast majority of Obamacare policyholders, let them expire at the end of the year and let health insurance costs jump overnight, or attempt broader reforms to bring the costs of the program down.
HOUSE GOP TENSIONS ERUPT AS REPUBLICANS TURN ON EACH OTHER HEADING INTO YEAR'S END
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., leaves a meeting of the House Republican Conference in the U.S. Capitol in Washington, June 4, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Massie posited the White House may also just not have direction to give for now. When it comes to something as politically charged as extending the enhanced premium tax credits being utilized by 90% of Obamacare’s 24 million enrollees, does the president know what he wants?
"Probably not. I don’t know," Massie said.
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The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Leo Briceno is a politics reporter for the congressional team at Fox News Digital. He was previously a reporter with World Magazine.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-stays-sidelines-gop-falters-push-unite-healthcare-plan