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Hakeem Jeffries says public pressure will force Congress to extend ACA subsidies

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference as the government shutdown enters its third week, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 14.
J. Scott Applewhite
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AP
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference as the government shutdown enters its third week, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Oct. 14.

Updated October 21, 2025 at 11:25 AM CDT

Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said he believes public pressure will mount on Republicans in the coming days to extend health insurance subsidies that are the heart of the shutdown fight.

Most of the federal government remains shut down after Senate Republicans and Democrats again failed to pass a spending bill Monday that would reopen the government. Democrats, who have put forward their own spending resolution, remain steadfast that Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies used by more than 20 million people to afford monthly health premiums should be extended.

With the credits expiring at the end of the year and ACA open enrollment beginning Nov. 1, many buying insurance through their state's marketplace are likely to see their monthly costs soar.

In an interview with Morning Edition, Jeffries said he believes "it will become readily apparent to people throughout America why it is so important for Congress to act to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits."

Some Republicans have proposed a one-year extension of the ACA subsidies, which Jeffries has opposed. In a separate interview with Morning Edition, GOP Rep. Mike Lawler of New York said Democrats knew the subsidies would expire and dared Jeffries to sign onto the one-year extension if he was "serious" about it.

In response, Jeffries said that "If billionaires can be provided tax breaks on a permanent basis in ways that will explode the deficit all across the country and result in people losing their health insurance … it seems to us that Republicans should come to the table to provide a greater degree of certainty as it relates to health care that's being provided to working class Americans," referring to President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act.

Speaking to NPR's Michel Martin, Jeffries discussed how the shutdown is playing out and why Democrats remain adamant on their position.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. 


Interview highlights

Michel Martin: Last night, the Senate failed for the 11th time to pass a measure that would extend current funding until the end of the year, effectively reopen the government. Republicans insist they'll negotiate on health care once the government reopens. Remind us again about why that position is unacceptable to the Democrats.

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries: Well, we've made clear that we want to reopen the government. We want to find a bipartisan path forward toward a spending agreement that actually makes life better for the American people. But we also need to decisively resolve the Republican health care crisis that is crushing people all across the country, particularly as it relates to the need to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. Open enrollment starts on Nov. 1. That's less than two weeks from now. And tens of millions of Americans are receiving notices as we speak, indicating that their health insurance premiums, co-pays and deductibles are about to skyrocket double, triple — or in some cases, quadruple — at levels that will be unaffordable, which is why these issues taken together need to be addressed at this moment without further delay.

Martin: So as you just pointed out, Nov. 1 is a crucial date because that's when most states will start to send out notices spelling out the cost of coverage, without the subsidies, those huge price hikes that you just mentioned that you're trying to protect buyers from, will have already happened. If we get to that point and there is still no deal, what then?

Jeffries: Well, the open enrollment period, which begins on Nov. 1, will last until the early to mid part of December. The pressure is going to continue to mount on the Congress to take decisive action during that period of time, as people all across America realize that things are about to get extremely costly in states like Georgia, Virginia and Maryland. We now have visibility into the fact that costs may increase on a monthly basis by approximately $2,000 per month. That means that health insurance premiums could actually increase to over $24,000 a year. That's unaffordable. The average income of someone who receives an Affordable Care Act tax credit is around $63,000 a year. And so clearly, these type of premium increases for people to get access to a doctor when they need them are unsustainable. And so over the next few weeks, it will become readily apparent to people throughout America why it is so important for Congress to act to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. And by the way, health insurance costs are going to increase for people who receive assistance through the tax credits on the Affordable Care Act, as well as people who receive their health insurance from their employer as well.

Editor's note: About 90% of ACA premium tax credit recipients have annual incomes at or below $63,000, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Martin: So yesterday you said that you'd oppose GOP legislation to pay military service members. That's something that President Trump already says he's going to do. And then this bill would also pay essential federal workers. You say you oppose this because you call it a political ploy. Notwithstanding the fact that you argue that this would give the president discretion to decide who would get paid and who wouldn't get paid. And you feel that that's not right. There still are a lot of workers in those groups who would face real hardship without pay. What do you say to them?

Jeffries: I support the military being paid. We, in fact, on the Democratic side of the House, have introduced legislation to ensure that that happens. In terms of the legislation that Sen. Ron Johnson [R-Wisc.] apparently was putting forward or may plan to put forward in the Senate, it gives President Trump wide discretion to decide who gets paid, who doesn't get paid, what happens in terms of furloughed workers who apparently will not be addressed in this legislation. And he's already threatened not to pay furloughed workers, even though that's contrary to federal law that he himself signed in 2019. This has been a lawless administration from day one of this presidency and allowing them to have further discretion as to how they may proceed, particularly when they have targeted hard working federal civil servants from the very beginning of this term in extraordinary ways is not an appropriate step forward. It's piecemeal, it's not comprehensive. And we need to reopen the government in its entirety. And we're ready to do that as Democrats. We just need partners on the other side of the aisle in terms of a willingness to proceed in good faith.

Copyright 2025 NPR

Michel Martin is the weekend host of All Things Considered, where she draws on her deep reporting and interviewing experience to dig in to the week's news. Outside the studio, she has also hosted "Michel Martin: Going There," an ambitious live event series in collaboration with Member Stations.
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[Copyright 2024 NPR]