Democrats on Capitol Hill could hardly believe their ears this week.
Yes, that was Georgia U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, basically siding with calls by Democrats to prevent a major increase in insurance premiums for people who buy coverage available through the Affordable Care Act.
It’s not that Greene has suddenly become a Democrat. Far from it. But the Rome Republican said the price hike would be too much for her family and constituents.
“My own adult children’s insurance premiums for 2026 are going to double, along with all the wonderful families and hard-working people in my district,” Greene said.
That’s the argument Democrats have been making as part of the fight over the federal government shutdown. They want the expiring subsidies to be extended at a cost of about $35 billion per year.
“I never thought I’d say this, but Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is right,” said U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Georgia Democrat.
Along the way, Greene also took a jab at top Republicans in the U.S. House, saying her party seemingly had no plan for how to respond to the insurance subsidy question.
“Not a single Republican in leadership talked to us about this or has given us a plan to help Americans deal with their health insurance premiums doubling,” Greene complained.
In a sense, there was a broader truth from Greene about health policy and the Republican Party.
Everyone knows the GOP can’t stand the Obama health law. That’s been obvious for the past 15 years.
But what everyone on Capitol Hill also knows is that despite all of the outrage, despite all of the GOP efforts to repeal former President Barack Obama’s health care law, despite all of the talk about doing something better, Republicans still don’t have a health insurance alternative.
Sure, there are ideas out there from Republicans with buzz phrases like “patient-centered care.”
But 15 years later, there still isn’t any GOP health plan in Congress. There is nothing comprehensive that Republicans could bring up for a vote.
As for President Donald Trump, he has repeatedly promised action to get rid of the Obama health care law, often saying his new plan would come in “two weeks.” It was a promise that turned into a running joke.
Even after being out of office for four years, Trump wasn’t ready with anything new on health insurance for his second term. Remember Trump’s debate line in 2024? He said he had “concepts of a plan.”
We all know the current health insurance system isn’t perfect. Greene knows that, too. But Republicans — and Trump — are still just nibbling around the edges.
Jamie Dupree has covered national politics and Congress from Washington, D.C., since the Reagan administration. His column appears weekly in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. For more, check out his Capitol Hill newsletter at jamiedupree.substack.com
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