Schumer Retreats After GOP Senator Confronted Him Over Obamacare ‘Fix’

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) abruptly walked away from a heated exchange with Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-Ohio) on the Senate floor Saturday, after being pressed on a Democratic “fix” that would extend Obamacare subsidies — even for Americans earning millions of dollars a year — as the Democrat-led government shutdown entered its 39th day.

Schumer was attempting to sell his latest proposal to reopen the government: a one-year extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies using taxpayer funds. But when Moreno questioned the lack of income limits in the proposal, the Democratic leader quickly lost patience.

“We can’t give you a counter in writing, but it’s very simple,” Schumer said. “We would add two sentences to any proposal which would extend the ACA benefits for one year.”

Moreno immediately pointed out the glaring flaw.

“It does still have no income caps, so people who make $1, $2, $3 million a year…” he began — before Schumer cut him off.

Schumer fired back that Republicans were blocking negotiations and insisted the issue of income caps could be dealt with after the subsidies were extended.

“Once we pass the one-year fix so people right now aren’t in difficulty, we would sit and negotiate that,” Schumer said.

Moreno pressed further:

“So for one year, people making millions of dollars would still receive these COVID-era subsidies?”

At that, Schumer snapped, accusing Moreno of “caring more about billionaires,” before storming out of the chamber, according to multiple Senate sources.

Moreno later blasted the Democratic leader’s refusal to engage in good-faith negotiations:

“I was going to ask him before he stormed out… whether he planned to continue the $0 premiums that are rife with fraud,” Moreno said. “If he had stayed, I would have asked him a third question: Does he want these monies to go directly to insurance companies?”

As the standoff dragged on, President Donald Trump flipped the debate on its head with a Truth Social post proposing that the billions in Obamacare subsidies now flowing to insurance companies be redirected directly to American citizens.

“I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money-sucking Insurance Companies … BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE so that they can purchase their own, much better, healthcare,” Trump wrote.

He added:

“Take from the BIG, BAD Insurance Companies, give it to the people, and terminate … the worst Healthcare anywhere in the world — ObamaCare.”

The move instantly reframed the political narrative, turning Democrats’ “pro-insurance” shutdown demands into a fight between big government and big insurance vs. ordinary Americans.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) immediately announced he was drafting legislation to make Trump’s plan a reality.

“Totally agree, @POTUS!” Scott posted on X. “We must stop taxpayer money from going to insurance companies and instead give it directly to Americans in HSA-style accounts and let them buy the healthcare they want. This will increase competition & drive down costs.”

Commentators hailed Trump’s proposal as a “political masterstroke,” saying it put Democrats in the impossible position of defending billion-dollar insurance corporations over middle-class families.

“Schumer just got outflanked,” one GOP strategist said. “He’s fighting for Blue Cross and Aetna while Trump is fighting for the people. That’s not a fight Democrats can win.”

As the shutdown nears 40 days, Trump’s populist pivot on healthcare could prove to be the turning point — exposing, once again, how Democrats talk about helping the little guy while protecting the corporate elite.