GOP centrists choose nuclear option in fight with Mike Johnson over Obamacare

By Sarah Ferris, Manu Raju, CNN

(CNN) — In a stunning blow to Speaker Mike Johnson, four GOP lawmakers on Wednesday agreed to back a Democratic push to extend pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies.

Those four GOP centrists — New York Rep. Mike Lawler and Pennsylvania Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick, Ryan Mackenzie and Rob Bresnahan — have officially opted for what they have been describing as the nuclear option.

Now that they have signed onto Democrats’ procedural maneuver to force a floor vote on their proposed three-year extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has the 218 signatures needed guarantee a vote under discharge petition rules. That floor vote cannot be forced until January, however, under those same rules.

Those same four centrists have criticized Democrat’ plan as flawed. But in a sign of desperation, the typically leadership-aligned centrists chose to defy Johnson and sign onto Democrats’ push rather than allow the enhanced subsidies to expire at year’s end.

The House on Wednesday is expected to vote on a separate, narrower health care proposal from GOP leadership that does not address the expiring subsidies – all but guaranteeing that the money will lapse and spike premiums for tens of millions of Americans next year. A bipartisan group of senators is also working on a parallel track to strike their own health care agreement.

The centrists intentionally had not ruled out joining the Democratic petition as they tried to pressure their own leadership into allowing a compromise measure that would extend and reform the subsidies to come to the floor. That effort failed on Tuesday.

Fitzpatrick, the first Republican to sign on Wednesday, telegraphed his move in a late night meeting of the House Rules Committee, where he was making a final push for his separate, bipartisan compromise measure.

“I think the only thing worse than a clean extension without any income limits and any reforms – because it’s not a perfect system – the only thing worse than that would be expiration,” Fitzpatrick said Tuesday night when asked about the Democratic push. “And I would make that decision.”

Lawler similarly emphasized that he did not fully support Democrats’ bill, but suggested inaction was unacceptable.

“This procedural step is not an endorsement of the bill written. I continue to believe any extension should be targeted, fiscally responsible, and include income eligibility limits and safeguards against fraud, similar to the bipartisan discussions underway in the Senate,” he said in a statement after singing onto the petition.

“But when leadership blocks action entirely, Congress has a responsibility to act. My priority is ensuring Hudson Valley families aren’t caught in the gridlock.”

While such a bill would likely pass the House, a similar measure has already failed in the Senate.

Senate Republican Leader John Thune shrugged when asked Wednesday if the Senate would take up such a bill if it passed the House. “We’ll cross that bridge if we come to it,” he told reporters.

This story has been updated with additional details.

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CNN’s Arlette Saenz and Ted Barrett contributed to this report.