4 GOP rebels join Hakeem Jeffries in end-run around Mike Johnson

Four moderate Republicans in the House are rebelling against House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who wants to join his Democratic counterpart in voting on increased Obamacare subsidies that expire at the end of this year.

Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, R-Pa., Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., Rob Bresnahan, R-Pa. and Mike Lawler, DY, joined House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, DY, in the habeas corpus petition on the DY’s push for a three-year extension of subsidies.

A discharge petition is a mechanism to override the will of House leaders to seek a chamber-wide vote on certain legislation, provided it has the support of a majority of lawmakers.

In this case, the signatures of four House Republicans brought Jeffries’ petition to 218 votes; This clinched the critical majority threshold.

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“I have always supported bipartisan solutions to ensure the affordability of health care in this country,” Mackenzie told Fox News Digital on Wednesday about her decision. “Leader Jeffries and the Democrats have refused to sign on to any of these bipartisan solutions, so at this point our leadership is not drafting a bill to extend his mandate. [Obamacare] tax credit.”

He called for a vote on the Democrat-led solution as well as the bipartisan bill that offers one- and two-year extensions, respectively, along with reforms.

This comes despite Johnson warning Republicans earlier Wednesday not to support Jeffries’ petition, suggesting it wasn’t the best way to pass legislation.

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Representative Mike Lawler leaves after a meeting of the House Republican Conference in Washington on March 4, 2025. (Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images)

Johnson told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that “making a final judgment around the majority party, the speaker or the normal process is not the best way to pass legislation.”

The House of Representatives is expected to vote on a bill that Republicans say aims to lower health care costs for all Americans without expanding subsidies; They argue that it is part of a deeply flawed public healthcare system.

Moderate Republicans proposed several amendments to the legislation aimed at expanding Obamacare subsidies at a House Rules Committee hearing Tuesday to advance the bill, but they were all rejected by GOP lawmakers on the panel.

Rep. Ryan Mackenzie, R-Pa., arrives at a House Education and Workforce Committee hearing in Washington on May 7, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc. via Getty Images)

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“While we worked towards a bipartisan compromise with reforms, leadership’s refusal to allow a vote on the floor left me no choice but to sign the Democrats’ petition to discharge,” Lawler said in a statement about X. he said.

“The speaker should immediately take to the floor for an up-or-down vote and let the House do the job of the American people.”

Due to the timing constraints of the discharge petition, the House could consider the Jeffries bill as early as next year at the earliest.