Donald Trump proposes redirecting Obamacare insurance subsidies straight to citizens, fueling a fierce Capitol Hill clash amid America’s longest government shutdown.
In a move that electrified Washington on Saturday, President Donald Trump proposed a dramatic solution to end the grinding U.S. government shutdown — strip federal Obamacare subsidies from “money-sucking” insurance giants and hand the cash directly to the American people.
“I am recommending to Senate Republicans that the hundreds of billions of dollars now being sent to these corrupt insurance companies be sent directly to the people,” Trump declared on Truth Social. “Let them buy their own, better healthcare — and still have money left over!”
Framing his proposal as a populist counterpunch to both entrenched bureaucracy and corporate greed, Trump called Obamacare “the worst healthcare anywhere in the world” and vowed to “terminate it per dollar spent.”
His fiery post came just hours before the Senate’s reconvening to battle over legislation that could reopen the government — now in the longest shutdown in American history. The deadlock has left hundreds of thousands of federal employees without pay, while both parties remain locked in a high-stakes standoff over how to fund government operations and health subsidies.
Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, are insisting any funding bill include renewed healthcare subsidies for 24 million Americans set to expire by year’s end. Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, argue the government must first reopen — with no policy “riders” attached — before tackling broader reforms.
Trump’s populist gambit plays to his political strength: directly appealing to citizens over the heads of Washington elites. By portraying the insurance industry as the villain and himself as the champion of ordinary Americans, the former president is setting up another defining clash between populism and establishment politics — a hallmark of his leadership style.
Whether Trump’s “take from Big Insurance, give to the people” strategy will break the impasse or inflame it further remains to be seen. But one thing is clear — the billionaire-turned-president is once again betting that raw, unapologetic populism can outmaneuver a gridlocked Capitol.
