Van Orden sides with Democrats on ACA subsidy extension vote

In a surprise reversal, Republican Congressman Derrick Van Orden voted for a three-year extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits Thursday despite previously calling for the law to be repealed.

As the only GOP member of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation to support the subsidies, Van Orden said the vote will buy time for Republicans to fix a broken health care system. Democrats say it was “purely performative” and aimed at boosting his chances in what’s expected to be a tough reelection campaign.

Van Orden, R-Prairie du Chien, was one of just 17 Republicans in the House to side with Democrats and pass an extension of enhanced tax credits aimed at keeping insurance premiums from spiking for people buying health insurance through the ACA. The enhanced subsidies were passed in 2021 and extended in 2022, but Republicans let them expire Dec. 31, and Democrats have been hammering the issue leading into the 2026 midterms.

Notably, Van Orden voted to block a Democratic-led effort to bring the extensions to the House floor just one day before. His campaign website states he’ll work to ensure Wisconsinites will be protected “when Obamacare is fully repealed.”

After the measure cleared the House Thursday, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters he wished the Republican defections hadn’t happened, reiterating that the ACA tax credit extension is “a really bad policy.”

In a statement, Van Orden reiterated his opposition to “the damages that the Unaffordable Care Act has done to families, small businesses and rural communities.”

“I will not sit back and watch my constituents lose access to health care or face massive premium hikes because Democrats refuse to take responsibility for their failures,” Van Orden said. “I should not have to vote for a temporary patch to a broken system, but I will always put the people of Wisconsin first.”

Barry Burden, a professor of political science at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, told WPR Van Orden’s reversal is surprising, but noted he’s running for reelection in a competitive House district during an election cycle “likely to have advantages for Democrats nationally.”

“I think there are a lot of signs that it’s going to be a full reelection effort for him, and that health care is a top concern,” said Burden. “And taking this vote might help put that issue to bed and get it out of the way, and maybe redirect the campaign conversation where he has maybe the upper hand or is more competitive.”

In an effort to keep the pressure on Van Orden, Wisconsin Democrats issued a statement after Thursday’s vote accusing the Republican of “doing a complete 180” after trying to “undermine and defund the Affordable Care Act.”

“DC Derrick has learned how to play swamp games better than anyone, flip-flopping after years of trying to undermine, defund, and repeal the ACA,” said Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Devin Remiker. “After already voting to let ACA funding end, this was a purely performative vote — an attempt to salvage Van Orden’s re-election prospects that have become grimmer and grimmer.”

Van Orden was alone among Wisconsin’s Republican members of Congress who otherwise voted against the health care subsidy extension. In a statement, U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Clyman, said he opposed the measure because it didn’t include “safeguards to prevent waste, fraud and abuse in Obamacare marketplaces.”

“My position on this issue has remained consistent: supporting an Obamacare bailout is beyond fiscally irresponsible and does nothing to fix our failed health care system,” said Fitzgerald.

It’s unclear whether the Republican defections in the House will sway Republicans in the U.S. Senate, some of whom would have to side with Democrats in order for the extensions to get to President Donald Trump’s desk.

Burden said it seems unlikely that enough Republicans will join Democrats to surpass the Senate’s 60-vote threshold needed to pass the bill, which might mean that Van Orden “gets to have it both ways.”

Partisan gridlock over ACA extensions was cause for record government shutdown

The political impasse over the subsidies led to the longest shutdown of the federal government in U.S. history last year, which left more than a million federal employees working without pay for 43 days. The shutdown also spurred the first-ever lapse in monthly federal food assistance payments after the Trump administration claimed it couldn’t pay workers until Democrats approved a stopgap funding bill.

After a federal judge ordered the administration to fully fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers’ administration restored benefits for nearly 700,000 Wisconsin residents.