Rep. Mike Lawler, a moderate New York Republican who backs extending enhanced Obamacare subsidies, unloaded on both Republican and Democratic leaders Tuesday for failing to find a solution as the subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year.

Lawler is among a small group of Republican House members pushing for a vote on a two-year extension as an amendment to the GOP’s healthcare package this week. After Speaker Mike Johnson announced Tuesday that there would be no vote on an extension, Lawler denounced the decision as “political malpractice.”

“I am pissed for the American people. This is absolute bullshit,” the New York Republican told reporters as he exited a House Republican Conference meeting Tuesday. “I think it’s idiotic not to have an up-or-down vote on this issue.” (RELATED: Fake People And Phony SSNs Had 100% Success In Getting Obamacare Subsidy, Fraud Investigation Finds)

US Representative Mike Lawler, Republican of New York, speaks to reporters following a House vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act at the US Capitol in Washington, DC on November 18, 2025. (Photo by Daniel Heuer/AFP via Getty Images)

Negotiations between GOP moderates and party leaders took place over the weekend but broke down after leadership insisted that any extension — estimated to add $350 billion to the deficit over the next decade — be paired with spending cuts.

Johnson said Tuesday that talks were conducted “in good faith” but failed to produce an agreement.

Lawler and other moderate Republicans, like Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, have warned that allowing the subsidies to lapse will drive up insurance premiums for their constituents in competitive districts Democrats are targeting in 2026.

Obamacare critics argue that insurer profits have surged since the enhanced subsidies were enacted and note that Obamacare premiums have risen roughly twice as fast as employer-based insurance costs. While Democrats are seeking to pin the blame on Republicans, GOP leaders emphasize that the subsidies were enacted in 2021 without a single Republican vote and that allowing them to expire would return Obamacare to its original structure.

“There’s about a dozen members in the conference that are in these swing districts who are fighting hard to make sure they reduce costs for all of their constituents. And many of them did want to vote on this Obamacare Covid-era subsidy that Democrats created,” Johnson told reporters. “We looked for a way to try to allow for that pressure release valve, and it just was not to be.”

Q from @AndiNapier: ‘This morning, @RepMikeLawler said that it was political malpractice to not allow a vote on the ACA subsidy extension this week. What’s your reaction to that?’