2026-01-10
31 分钟Hey there, it's the NPR Politics Podcast for Friday, January 9th, 2026.
I'm Tamara Keith, I cover the White House.
I'm Claudia Grisada, I cover Congress.
And I'm Domenico Montanero, Senior Political Editor and Correspondent.
And we are recording this at 12.50 p.m.
And we wanted to check in on what's happening in Congress,
where 17 House Republicans joined Democrats this week on a vote to extend healthcare subsidies that had expired at the end of 2025.
Claudia, remind us about these subsidies and what happened here.
Right.
These were part of a pandemic era law to make the Affordable Care Act program more affordable.
And as costs have skyrocketed for healthcare,
these subsidies have become that much more critical for millions of Americans who,
because these expired in December, they're facing premiums that have doubled or more.
And so,
There is this core group of republicans
as you mentioned the seventeen mostly moderate republicans to join democrats.
Not only did they force this vote on the floor
because they had been asking for this vote but how speaker mic johnson had been.
Rejecting that plan but they use the discharge petition maneuver to get around him and force that vote but.
Then we saw those 17 House Republicans defect.