October 7, 2025
The president said he is open to working with his Democratic colleagues as he wants to see a deal on the expiring subsidies for lower-income families in ACA, also known as Obamacare.
On day six of the 2025 government shutdown, President Donald Trump claimed he had a deal in place with congressional Democrats on healthcare policy extensions, as well as an agreement on expiring health insurance subsidies, to end the shutdown impasse, according to USA Today.
During a press conference in the Oval Office, Trump highlighted that “good things about healthcare” are taking place. “We have a negotiation going on with the Democrats that could lead to good things,” he said as blue-sided lawmakers have pressed Republicans to include the reversal of Medicaid cuts and extended subsidies in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), in the bill that would end the shutdown.
The president said he is open to working with his Democratic colleagues, as he wants to see a deal on the expiring subsidies for lower-income families under the ACA, also known as Obamacare, perhaps even more so than his liberal counterparts. “We’re talking to the Democrats,” Trump said.
“I’d like to see a deal done for great health care ‒ yeah. I’m a Republican, but I want to see healthcare, much more so than the Democrats.”
The president’s comments show some signs of hope for collaborative efforts, as negotiations between the feuding parties have been seemingly nonexistent for weeks leading up to Sept. 30 — the end of the federal fiscal year. If ACA subsidies are not renewed, premiums are expected to double the current cost. However, just after showing signs of collaboration, Trump slightly changed his tune on his Truth Social platform, demanding the reopening on Oct. 6.
Leaders on both sides of the aisle have given their take on the shutdown and the Obamacare extension. On X, Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene pushed a narrative that “all insurance is a scam” and how the Affordable Care Act affected her family, making it unaffordable. “As a matter of fact, the ACA made health insurance UNAFFORDABLE for my family after it was passed, with skyrocketing premiums higher than our house payment.
Let’s just say as nicely as possible, I’m not a fan,” she wrote in a lengthy post.
Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren posted a video to X, speaking to a federal worker who was terminated from her post in early 2025. Warren, an avid outspoken critic of the Trump administration, is focusing on how the president is using the shutdown to harm government employees, saying they “deserve so much better.”
According to the Associated Press, Trump suggested that layoffs on the federal level were already underway. However, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claims that employees would be furloughed, meaning workers would not be able to report to work, but would be paid upon their return following the end of the shutdown.
However, it appears that a decision is still pending, as leaders on both sides seem indifferent about the next steps. Democratic Majority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer says his colleagues are ready to work with the GOP to “reopen the government and end the health care crisis that faces tens of millions of Americans.” Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters, “There’s nothing for us to negotiate.”
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