Republicans in battleground districts are begging Speaker Mike Johnson to pass some kind of shutdown package because they're facing backlash at home.
Angry Americans face slower airports, unanswered phones and stagnating paperwork. And they're calling congressional leaders asking for help.
"Every day the shutdown continues to hurt the very people we were elected to serve, including the men and women of our Armed Forces, the federal law enforcement officers who keep our communities safe, the agents who defend our nation's borders, and the public servants who provide essential services to veterans, seniors, and families," the letter reads.
"Once the government is reopened, however, we should immediately turn our focus to the growig crisis of healthcare affordability and the looming expiration of the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits," the letter says before blaming the crisis on Democrats for not foreseeing the challenge in 2022 when Democrats held the House and Senate and could have passed a longterm fix.
Democrats extended the tax cuts during the COVID-19 pandemic, and they are set to expire at the end of 2025 unless the GOP approves another extension.
The letter also admits that there is still no healthcare plan from the GOP or President Donald Trump to replace the 15-year-old Obamacare law.
"Allowing these tax credits to lapse without a clear path forward would risk real harm to those we represent," the letter continues.
New Jersey Republican Reps. Jeff Van Drew and Tom Kean, along with 11 other Republican members, have written a letter to House Speaker Mike Johnson asking him to hold a vote on a short-term funding bill and end the federal shutdown, noting that the loss of healthcare premiums… pic.twitter.com/xl5Mg0FzMQ
— Shlomo Schorr (@OneJerseySchorr) October 21, 2025
