Updated January 8, 2026 at 5:35 PM EST
A group of 17 House Republicans joined with Democrats on Thursday, against the wishes of House Speaker Mike Johnson, to pass a measure to restore health insurance subsidies that lapsed at the end of last year.
That three-year extension passed by a vote of 230 to 196, but it is not likely to go far in the Senate, where a similar measure failed in December. A bipartisan group of senators, however, say they are getting close to a deal on a compromise bill.
While the debate over health care costs absorbed much of the oxygen in Congress in the final weeks of 2025, the rush to take action on the lapsed subsidies is now happening as members find themselves grappling with questions about the direction of U.S. foreign policy following President Trump's actions in Venezuela.
On Thursday, the Senate took a procedural vote to begin debate on a resolution that would require the administration to seek authorization from Congress before taking further military action in the country. The measure advanced by a vote of 52 to 47, with five Republicans joining Democrats in support.
The vote was part of a whirlwind start to the new year for lawmakers. Adding to their to-do list is a fast-approaching Jan. 30 deadline to fund the government or risk a partial shutdown. House lawmakers made progress on that front Thursday, passing a trio of spending bills to fund the departments of Energy, Commerce, Interior and Justice. The bills also provide funding for the Environmental Protection Agency and federal water and science initiatives.
An end-run around the speaker on subsidies
Republican leadership for weeks refused to allow a vote on extending the subsidies.
Then just before the holiday recess, four swing-district Republicans joined with Democrats to force a vote on extending the subsidies for three years through what's known as a discharge petition. The once rare legislative tool allows 218 or more rank-and-file members to sidestep the speaker and force a vote.
But even many backers acknowledge a clean three-year extension is unlikely to pass the Senate. The hope has been that success in the House would recharge bipartisan negotiations in the upper chamber, and there are signs that may be happening.
A small bipartisan group of senators have been negotiating this week, and several of them have told reporters they are nearing a deal.
"We're in the red zone," said Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, on Wednesday. "But that does not mean a touchdown. It could mean a 95-yard fumble."
Several of those senators met with a bipartisan group of House members on Thursday.
"The Senators made it abundantly clear, that but for this action in the House, the discharge petition, that was incredibly important for them to breathe life back into this issue," Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Penn., told reporters after emerging from the meeting.
The path ahead in the Senate
Moreno says the emerging compromise centers on a two-year extension. In the second year, patients could opt to have the funds deposited in a Health Savings Account, instead of government subsidies going to the insurance company.
President Trump has pushed to give federal funding for health care costs directly to patients and has repeatedly decried the subsidies as government handouts to big insurance companies.
The plan would also include an income cap, among other changes Republicans have called for. Open enrollment would likely be extended so people who dropped their policies due to the premium spikes brought on by the expiration of subsidies can have an opportunity to sign up for coverage.
There are still some sticking points to a bipartisan deal. Some Republicans want more specific language around the prohibition of federal funding being used for abortion.
Trump told House Republicans this week that they may need to be "flexible on this."
And there are also many Republicans deeply opposed to the enhanced subsidies at all, so even if the bipartisan group reaches a compromise, their ultimate fate remains unclear.
"It would be unfathomable if something came out of the Senate and it was not given a floor vote," Fitzpatrick said, not ruling out another House discharge petition. "It will be given a floor vote one way or another."
A busy start to 2026 with Venezuela in focus
As lawmakers look for consensus on the subsidies, questions about the future of the U.S. role in Venezuela have also taken on new urgency.
While most Republicans have voiced support for the military operation that resulted in the capture of Nicolas Maduro, some in the party have signaled unease with what happens next. On Thursday, five Republican Senators joined with Democrats in voting to begin debate on a bill to require congressional approval for any further military action in Venezuela: Susan Collins of Maine, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Indiana's Todd Young.
The vote represented a rebuke for the president, but may ultimately prove symbolic. Even if the measure wins final passage in the Senate, it would face a steep climb in the GOP-controlled House and a likely veto from Trump.
Nonetheless, the GOP defections spurred a blistering critique from President Trump.
"Republicans should be ashamed of the Senators that just voted with Democrats in attempting to take away our Powers to fight and defend the United States of America," Trump wrote in a statement posted to Truth Social.
In addition to votes on health care and Venezuela, lawmakers are also facing pressure on funding the government by a deadline of Jan. 30.
Congress has already signed off on full-year funding for some federal agencies, but the record-long government shutdown last fall ended with a continuing resolution that got funding flowing again for most departments only into the first month of the year.
Several of those appropriations bills are slated to come up for votes in the coming days, but appropriators are still working out the details for bills that cover more contentious areas — like the Department of Defense and the Department of Health and Human Services.
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