As the sixth day of the federal government shutdown dawned on October 6, 2025, the nation found itself mired in a high-stakes standoff over health care and federal funding—one that left lawmakers pointing fingers and millions of Americans anxious about their insurance coverage. At the center of the storm stood House Speaker Mike Johnson, whose every word and maneuver was scrutinized by both parties and the public alike.
House Republicans, led by Johnson, were on recess for the third consecutive week, even as the government remained shuttered and the so-called "GOP health care crisis" deepened. Democrats, for their part, accused the GOP of abandoning their legislative duties at a critical moment. According to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, Johnson’s refusal to accept a challenge for a one-on-one debate with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries was evidence of his reluctance to defend what they called an “indefensible” position. “Republicans know they’ve lost the support of the American people, and that the health care crisis they’ve created is indefensible,” DCCC spokesperson Viet Shelton said. “If Mike Johnson really thought he had a legitimate argument to make, he’d accept the challenge to debate the GOP health care crisis one-on-one. But his refusal to engage in a debate says it all: Mike Johnson is afraid.”
Yet, Johnson projected confidence at a Monday press conference, dismissing Democratic concerns as a “red herring.” “Let me look right into the camera and tell you very clearly: Republicans are the ones concerned about health care,” Johnson declared, as reported by The Associated Press. “Republicans are the party working around the clock every day to fix health care. We’re not, this is not talking points for us: We’ve done it.” He insisted that a “big part” of President Donald Trump’s budget bill, passed in July, would “fix health care.”
But the facts, as outlined by the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and reported by multiple news outlets, painted a more complicated picture. The federal government’s partial shutdown was triggered by a dispute over Democratic efforts to permanently extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of December 2025. If Congress fails to act, an estimated 5.1 million Americans could lose their insurance by 2034, according to the CBO. The Democratic-backed bill, which would have kept the government funded through October and restored nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts, was voted down by all 53 Senate Republicans last week.
Meanwhile, the GOP’s own spending bill, passed in July and championed by Johnson and Trump, calls for $1.1 trillion in cuts to Medicaid and ACA marketplace funding by 2034. The CBO’s analysis predicts that these cuts, combined with stricter Medicaid work requirements and increased redeterminations, would leave an estimated 10 million more people without health insurance by 2034. The bill also eliminates eligibility for lawfully present immigrants such as asylum seekers and refugees, further reducing the insured population.
As the shutdown dragged on, both sides dug in. Johnson argued that the end-of-year deadline to extend ACA subsidies was “an eternity” away, saying, “We have effectively three months to negotiate. In the White House and in the halls of Congress, that’s like an eternity,” he told MSNBC’s Ali Vitali. Yet time was hardly on the side of ordinary Americans. Open enrollment for health insurance begins November 1 in most states, and insurers could raise premiums if they anticipate the subsidies will expire. That could prompt some consumers to drop their coverage, even if Congress later agrees to extend the tax credits.
Democrats, meanwhile, insisted on a permanent extension of the subsidies. Their bill, rejected by Senate Republicans, would have not only kept the government funded but also made the tax credits permanent and reversed the Medicaid cuts enacted in the GOP’s July budget law. The CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation estimated that extending the subsidies would increase the number of insured Americans by 3.6 million in 2030 and 3.8 million in 2035. Premiums for 2026 would also be 2.4 percent lower than baseline projections if the subsidies were extended. However, the plan would also add $349.8 billion to the federal deficit over the next decade—a figure that gave fiscal conservatives pause, especially as the Treasury Department reported a $1.97 trillion deficit for 2025 so far.
In the absence of negotiations, blame games intensified. Johnson told reporters that it was up to Democrats to “stop the madness” and pass the House’s stopgap spending bill, which had earlier cleared the lower chamber but was repeatedly rejected by Senate Democrats. “There’s nothing for us to negotiate. The House has done its job,” Johnson said. With the House not expected to be in session, attention shifted to the Senate, where a Republican bill to reopen the government failed to reach the 60 votes needed to end a filibuster. Senate Majority Leader John Thune stated, “They’ll get another chance on Monday to vote again. And I’m hoping that some of them have a change of heart.”
President Trump, for his part, was unapologetic, blaming Democrats for the shutdown and for any resulting federal worker firings. “It’s taking place right now, and it’s all because of the Democrats,” he told reporters, though he declined to specify which agencies were affected. The administration’s plan to impose permanent job cuts on thousands of government workers—an unprecedented tactic—only heightened tensions.
Democratic leaders, including Hakeem Jeffries and Senator Adam Schiff, countered that the real crisis was the looming increase in health care costs for millions of Americans. Schiff argued that the Trump administration’s decision to stop congressionally approved spending undermined any chance for a compromise, saying, “We need both to address the health care crisis, and we need some written assurance in the law — I won’t take a promise — that they’re not going to renege on any deal we make.”
The partisan rancor spilled over into the public sphere, with internet memes and pointed jabs dominating the discourse. Vice President JD Vance tried to downplay a Republican video that mocked Jeffries with ethnic stereotypes, but Democrats accused the GOP of spreading misinformation about health care spending on immigrants. In reality, as reported by The Associated Press, immigrants in the U.S. illegally are not eligible for any federal health care programs, including those provided by the ACA and Medicaid. Hospitals are reimbursed for emergency care provided to those who meet Medicaid requirements, but do not have eligible immigration status.
Through it all, the American public watched as their leaders sparred rather than solved problems. Polling from The Washington Post indicated that 71% of voters—across party lines—wanted Congress to extend the health care subsidies, including 80% of independents and more than a third of Republicans. Yet the impasse persisted, and the stakes for millions of Americans grew higher with each passing day.
With Congress at a standstill, the government shut down, and health care for millions hanging in the balance, the nation waits—hoping that someone, somewhere in Washington will finally break the deadlock.
