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.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune praised Moreno in an interview as “whip-smart” and “willing to do the work.”
“He’s willing to sit down with people and try and find common ground, which I think on an issue like this is challenging,” he said. “Around here, that’s worth a lot.”
His involvement is also a sign that a new generation of bipartisan dealmakers might be starting to emerge after some of the Senate’s old hands headed for the exits in recent cycles. Moreno is now in close touch with not only Collins and Shaheen but other Senate pragmatists such as Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Angus King (I-Maine).
Moreno’s text chain with the dozen-member group is labeled the “EPTC OG gang” — a reference to the enhanced premium tax credits, the technical name for the Obamacare subsidies.
At times, Moreno’s new-kid-on-the-block status has been on display. After Moreno and Collins convened a meeting in December near the Capitol Rotunda, the Ohio Republican asked a reporter for directions to the room, inadvertently tipping off its location.
Minutes later, Collins walked toward the meeting seemingly astounded that word had gotten out about what she said was a “secret meeting.” Told about Moreno’s request for help, a bemused Collins put a hand to the side of her face.
Moreno said his freshman status means he doesn’t have “scars” from previous congressional fights.
“‘Oh, I don’t want to be working with this person,’ or ‘They screwed me back in 1972,’ you know?” he said. “I was in Kindergarten, so it doesn’t affect me.”
At 58, Moreno is on the younger side for the Senate, but he is already airing frustrations about the chamber’s growing polarization and making points about addressing it that jibe closely with complaints frequently heard from older generations of senators.
“I don’t think there’s enough muscle memory here about actually going in with good faith, good intentions and getting together and seeing if the deal can be cut,” he said.
The group of negotiators have their work cut out for them. They are discussing a two-year extension of the Obamacare tax credits that were beefed up under former President Joe Biden. Since their lapse at the end of last year, the tax credits — which were used by more than 500,000 Ohioans, according to KFF data — have reverted to their original 2010 levels, benefiting only those with incomes under 400 percent of the federal poverty level.
The Senate group’s proposed extension would include new restrictions including a $5 a month minimum premium payment and an income cap set at 700 percent of the federal poverty level. In the second year, the proposal would also give enrollees to take their subsidy as cash in pre-funded health savings accounts — an arrangement favored by Trump.
Moreno believes the group is in the “red zone,” and could be ready with text as soon as Tuesday or Wednesday. But some Democrats involved in the discussions have been more circumspect, wary about a thorny dispute over abortion.
Many Republicans say they will not be able to support a compromise unless the subsidies are tightened so they cannot fund abortions in any manner. Democrats say the safeguards built into the Affordable Care Act upon its passage in 2010 are sufficient.
“I think we’ve made clear from the start, the Democrats feel we have to come to the rescue and I hope we can do it,” said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 party leader. But he warned that if the Republicans “decide they want to make this an abortion issue, I’m afraid that’s the end of the conversation.”
Moreno said the group wasn’t trying to relitigate questions over federal funding for abortions but acknowledged there is a “dispute” over whether that is currently happening.
Republicans’ heartburn over the issue flared last week after Trump suggested in remarks to House members that they should be “flexible” on abortion language — sparking outrage from outside conservative groups that ricocheted back on Congress.
A person granted anonymity to discuss the negotiations said Republicans in a larger negotiating group of roughly two dozen senators haven’t yet landed on a consensus position — much less the entire Senate GOP conference.
“There’s no need to come to a compromise because it’s already been dealt with in the Affordable Care Act,” Shaheen said when asked about the issue.
While the abortion question is a powerful force pulling some Republicans away from a deal, there are also compelling reasons for many to embrace a compromise — not least of which is the threat the expiring subsidies pose to the GOP majorities in November.
Among the vulnerable lawmakers is Moreno’s GOP partner in the Ohio delegation, Sen. Jon Husted, who is facing a likely matchup with Brown.
Moreno acknowledged that despite a feeling among negotiators that they are close to an agreement, it could all come to naught. Lawmakers “are on the clock,” he said, and getting a deal is an “if.”
“Capital I, capital F,” he said. “75-point font.”
