Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick and Mike Lawler were among the House Republicans voting to advance a bill on expired Obamacare subsidies despite Speaker Mike Johnson's objections 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)
It underscores the perilously slim margins that Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is governing with.
House Republicans hold just a two-vote majority with full attendance on both sides, numbers that could easily shift when lawmakers are absent for personal or health reasons.
As Rep. Tim Burchett, R-Tenn., put to reporters on Wednesday morning, "We are one flu season away from losing the majority."
The successful vote on Thursday is a blow for Johnson, who argued for weeks that the majority of House Republicans were opposed to extending the COVID-19 pandemic-era tax subsidies.
The US Capitol in Washington, D.C., on Monday, Nov. 11, 2024. (Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
But a core group of moderates has been arguing that a failure to extend a reformed version of them would force millions of Americans to grapple with skyrocketing healthcare costs this year.
Those moderates were also frustrated with Jeffries for not working with Republicans on a bipartisan solution to the subsidies, but felt they were left with little choice but to support Democrats' bid in the end.
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House Republicans passed a healthcare bill in mid-December aimed at lowering those costs for a broader swath of Americans, but that legislation has not been taken up in the Senate.
There's also little chance that the three-year extension will pass the upper chamber, however. Similar legislation led by Senate Democrats failed to reach the necessary 60-vote threshold to advance in December.
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/17-republicans-rebel-against-house-gop-leaders-join-dems-pass-obamacare-extension