U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) holds a press conference following the GOP weekly policy lunch on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., December 9, 2025. REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon
Failure to set strict "deadlines" for legislation has become a major liability for the GOP's leaders in Congress — and it could be the party's doom, according to MS NOW's Hayes Brown.
"Congress works best on a deadline," Brown argued. "The need to have the threat of impending doom looming before anything can get done is honestly one of the most relatable things about America's lawmakers. But the dwindling calendar is doing little to spur the legislative branch into action on some major issues.
"If this Monday is included, there are four legislative days until the Obamacare subsidies lapse and 16 legislative days before the federal government plunges into another shutdown."
The MS NOW columnist cites December 31, 2025 and January 30, 2026 as two crucial days for House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Leader John Thune (R-SD).
"Two dates ought to be circled in red on the calendars of House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune," Brown wrote. "December 31 is when a set of expanded Affordable Care Act subsidies expire. Without new legislation, health-care costs will skyrocket for millions of their members' constituents. January 30 is the expiration date of the short-term funding bill lawmakers passed to reopen the government in November. Absent another continuing resolution or an appropriations bill for the rest of the fiscal year, we'll find ourselves right back in another shutdown."
Brown doubts that GOP lawmakers will fund Obamacare subsidies before the December 31 "deadline."
"There's always a chance that Johnson and Thune will cancel scheduled breaks and keep their members working," Brown writes. "But don't count on a Christmas miracle."
Hayes Brown's full MS NOW column is available at this link.