Bernie Moreno and ACA subsidies
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If the Senate is going to strike a deal to revive a signature Democratic policy, it will be in part because of an unlikely broker: a freshman Republican from the party’s MAGA wing.
Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio is, on paper, an odd fit in the core group of about a dozen senators in talks to extend Obamacare credits that lapsed on Jan. 1. Most are well-known bipartisan dealmakers, such as Republican Susan Collins and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen.
Moreno, on the other hand, joined the Senate a year ago as a Trump-anointed presidential loyalist who had just defeated longtime Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown with hard-line attacks focused mainly on immigration. But he has a key asset — a close relationship with Trump, who will need to bless or at least tacitly accept any agreement to smooth its passage through Congress.
Asked in an interview about his decision to take a leading role in the politically fraught health care negotiations, Moreno deployed one of Trump’s best-known slogans.
“Putting America first means putting Americans first,” he said. “People are being affected, and I want to help the people who need help. That’s what we should be doing.”
He said his goal is to get roughly 35 of the Senate’s 53 GOP senators to support an eventual deal — not just a handful joining Democrats on a “defection vote” — and that he’s keeping the White House and Senate leaders closely apprised of the discussions.
