Speaker Mike Johnson didn’t mince words when he revealed the shocking political move hidden inside the latest government funding battle. While Congress scrambled to avoid a shutdown, Johnson exposed what he claims Democrats tried to quietly slip into the bill: a plan to extend pandemic-era subsidies that he says only enrich wealthy insurance companies while driving premiums even higher. According to Johnson, Republicans had already included major reforms to cut healthcare premiums by over 12% — but Democrats fought to strip them out, blocking what he insists would have offered real relief to American families.

As the Senate pushes forward with its own funding proposal, Johnson made it clear that Republicans are preparing a hard-line stance for November and December. With Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire at year’s end, he argues that Democrats have “no reform ideas at all,” only a desire to continue pouring government money into a system he calls fundamentally broken. Johnson promised that House Republicans will reintroduce their cost-cutting provisions, push for bipartisan solutions, and “educate the population” about why subsidizing insurance companies is not a fix — but a failure.