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Some states move to pick up the tab as Obamacare subsidies lapse

Some states move to pick up the tab as Obamacare subsidies lapse

At least a dozen states are scrambling to limit health insurance premium hikes after Congress failed to renew enhanced Obamacare subsidies, leaving millions of Americans facing higher healthcare costs. States including California, Colorado, Maryland and New Mexico have approved or are considering temporary measures to help some residents afford coverage, but some officials across the country said the cost of replacing federal subsidies for millions of enrollees is beyond the reach of state budgets, according to Politico. “We can carry the cost for a little bit, but at some point, we will need Congress to act,” New Mexico House Speaker Javier Martínez told the outlet. New Mexico is so far the only state to fully replace the expired subsidies. Obamacare, officially known as the Affordable Care Act, was former President Barack Obama’s signature piece of legislation which expanded healthcare coverage to millions of Americans in 2010. Critics argue it forced people to buy insurance, raised costs for some consumers and significantly expanded the federal government’s role in healthcare. SPEAKER JOHNSON EKES OUT HEALTHCARE BILL VICTORY AFTER HOUSE GOP OBAMACARE REBELLION The looming expiration of the subsidies hung over negotiations during the longest-ever government shutdown in the fall, as Republicans and Democrats tried — and failed — to pass competing plans to extend or replace the enhanced tax credits. The lapse of the subsidies is expected to push millions of Americans out of the individual insurance market, increasing pressure on state Medicaid programs and hospitals already facing financial strain. State responses have varied widely, reflecting political divisions, fiscal constraints and differing views on the Affordable Care Act. According to Politico, California, which anticipated the subsidies would expire, is spending nearly $200 million to support roughly 300,000 lower-income residents, but officials warn that hundreds of thousands more could still lose coverage. COLLINS, MORENO UNVEIL OBAMACARE PLAN AS REPUBLICANS SEARCH FOR SOLUTION TO EXPIRING SUBSIDIES Some states are using regulatory maneuvers rather than direct funding to stretch remaining subsidies. Other states, including Georgia and Washington, say budget shortfalls or political opposition prevent them from acting. Most states have taken no action at all, including both Republican-led states that oppose the Affordable Care Act and some Democrat-led states that support it, according to Politico. A few lawmakers in Maine and other battlegrounds worry their efforts could disincentivize Congress from coming up with a federal solution. Earlier this month, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, held bipartisan confabs to hash out a framework for an Obamacare fix that could meet the desires of both sides of the aisle, but it has not been formally written into a bill that passed either chamber yet. Any fix would likely involve a short-term extension of subsidies paired with Republican demands for guardrails, such as income limits or cost controls. Fox News’ Alex Miller contributed to this report.

Inside the Trump-Musk split: How America’s most powerful bromance imploded into the biggest breakup of 2025

Inside the Trump-Musk split: How America’s most powerful bromance imploded into the biggest breakup of 2025

Back on Inauguration Day, few in Washington would have believed that the highly publicized friendship between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk would implode before the year’s end. No political partnership burned brighter or fizzled faster than Trump and Musk’s in 2025. What began as a joint crusade to cut federal spending through the newly minted Department of Government Efficiency quickly devolved into a public falling out that unfolded in a full-blown social media feud. As 2025 comes to a close, here’s a look back at the biggest political breakup of the year. MUSK, TRUMP COME TOGETHER AT CHARLIE KIRK MEMORIAL The 2024 presidential campaign was the driving force for the high-profile partnership that ensued. ‘GONE TOO FAR’: GOP LAWMAKERS RALLY AROUND TRUMP AFTER MUSK RAISES EPSTEIN ALLEGATIONS After the first Trump assassination attempt at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on July 13, 2024, Musk endorsed Trump in an X post. Musk went on to donate more than $200 million to Trump’s presidential campaign through his super PAC, America PAC. While the two appeared together for a virtual town hall that August, the X owner and Tesla CEO made his first public appearance with Trump on Oct. 5, as the soon-to-be president returned to Butler three months after the shooting and one month before Election Day. Musk was jumping for joy as he joined Trump on stage. After Trump won the 2024 presidential election, Musk was appointed to lead the Department of Government Efficiency. On stage in Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, after winning the election, Trump said of Musk, “A star is born!” Two weeks after the election, Trump and his family attended the SpaceX “Starship” launch with Musk. Trump made DOGE official on Inauguration Day by signing an executive order to cut waste, fraud and abuse in the federal government with a mandate to modernize “Federal technology and software to maximize governmental efficiency and productivity.” Musk joined fellow tech moguls Jeff Bezos, Tim Cook and Mark Zuckerberg for Trump’s inauguration. As the Trump administration got settled, DOGE got to work pursuing Musk’s ambitious goal of cutting up to $2 trillion from the federal budget. As of October 2025, DOGE has saved approximately $214 billion through a combination of asset sales, contract or lease cancellations, fraud and improper payment deletions, grant cancellations, interest savings, programmatic changes, regulatory savings and workforce reductions, according to the DOGE website. When tens of thousands of federal workers were laid off, protests began erupting across the United States, rejecting Musk’s leadership and Trump’s sweeping, second-term agenda. Amid growing discontent directed at Musk and DOGE, Tesla stocks began seeing a drop earlier this year. Meanwhile, Musk’s political involvement prompted push back from protesters. Tesla vehicles, charging stations and dealerships were targeted in a string of vandalism attacks. In a show of support for Musk, Trump turned the White House South Lawn into a Tesla showroom and bought a red Tesla Model S. “He’s built this great company, and he shouldn’t be penalized, because he’s a patriot,” Trump said. By May, Musk began paring back his hours leading the controversial agency. According to the Office of Government Ethics, “special government employees” like Musk can work for the federal government no more than 130 days a year, which in Musk’s case was May 30. On his last day at DOGE, Musk joined Trump in the Oval Office for a press conference celebrating the billionaire’s legacy. Soon after Musk left the White House, Trump and Musk had their “big, beautiful” breakup, fueled by congressional negotiations for Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. “I’m sorry, but I just can’t stand it anymore,” Musk said in a post on June 3. “This massive, outrageous, pork-filled Congressional spending bill is a disgusting abomination. Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it.” Trump’s megabill included tax cuts, green energy spending cuts and Medicaid reform, but fiscal conservatives, like Musk, argued it didn’t do enough to reduce the nation’s $38 trillion debt crisis. Trump told reporters he was “very disappointed” in Musk’s criticism of his marquee megabill. “Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore,” Trump said. Musk then fired back on X, arguing that, “Without me, Trump would have lost the election, Dems would control the House and the Republicans would be 51-49 in the Senate.” The Tesla CEO urged Trump to “keep the EV/solar incentives cuts in the bill.” After Musk fired off several posts on X, Trump started firing back on his own social media platform, writing on Truth Social that Musk was “wearing thin” and claiming that he asked Musk to leave the White House. “I took away his EV Mandate that forced everyone to buy Electric Cars that nobody else wanted (that he knew for months I was going to do!), and he just went CRAZY!” Trump said. The president then threatened to “terminate Elon’s Government Subsidies and Contracts.” Musk fired back with a “really big bomb,” accusing Trump of being “in the Epstein files.” “This is an unfortunate episode from Elon, who is unhappy with the One Big Beautiful Bill because it does not include the policies he wanted. The President is focused on passing this historic piece of legislation and making our country great again,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in response. Congress narrowly passed Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act by a self-imposed July 4 deadline. Ahead of its final passage, Musk renewed his criticism of the reconciliation bill on social media. In response, Trump threatened to use DOGE to investigate Musk’s government subsidies for his companies. Months later, Trump and Musk reunited to honor the conservative activist Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated during a Turing Point USA event in Orem, Utah, on Sept. 10. Trump and Musk were spotted shaking hands at Kirk’s memorial service in a box at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. “For Charlie,” Musk later responded to the photo on X. Aboard Air Force

Eric Adams says Biden DOJ used ‘lawfare’ against him, compares treatment to Trump

Eric Adams says Biden DOJ used ‘lawfare’ against him, compares treatment to Trump

Outgoing New York City Mayor Eric Adams argued that the Biden administration’s Justice Department engaged in “lawfare” against the former president’s political opponents, including himself on corruption allegations and President Donald Trump over issues such as mishandling classified documents. “I think what we have witnessed under President Biden’s Justice Department, Americans should never have to live through that again,” Adams said on Monday during an appearance on Fox News’ “The Story.” “You saw everyday Americans who fought for the education of their children being put on watch lists, I think that you saw what happened with Charlie Kirk, when you saw the raiding of President Trump’s home. Debates should have happened … I think that you’re seeing the clear indication that the Justice Department under the previous administration used lawfare to go after those who disagree with them,” he added. ERIC ADAMS WARNS NYC ‘NOT FINE’ AFTER MAMDANI’S WIN, SAYS IF HE WAS JEWISH HE’D BE WORRIED FOR HIS CHILDREN Asked if he felt as angry about the alleged weaponization of the DOJ before he was targeted, Adams said “personal experience allows us to see firsthand the abuse.” “I spent my entire life, not only as a police officer, but as a state senator and borough president fighting against injustices,” Adams said. “There’s a real history, a rich history, of me standing up and fighting what the criminal justice system should never be. Yes, that anger was there long before I was a target, but what I saw happen while I was the mayor is really deplorable, and we saw what happened to President Trump‘s family as well.” NYC MAYOR ERIC ADAMS’ INDICTMENT DISMISSED WITH PREJUDICE “If you were to go back and look at my life story on criminal justice reform and not abuse, it goes back to being a young man who was abused at the hands of law enforcement,” he continued. “And so I’ve always been a clear voice, and it really personalized it of what I was fighting for years because I experienced the lawfare myself.” Adams was indicted in September 2024 on federal corruption charges related to bribery, wire fraud and accepting illegal foreign campaign contributions from Turkish officials and businessmen. He pleaded not guilty to all charges. The mayor has insisted that the case was politically motivated over his criticism of how the Biden administration handled illegal immigration, but prosecutors in the Southern District of New York said in court filings that the investigation began in September 2021, before Adams’ public criticism of the government’s immigration policies or his mayoral election win. The charges were dropped earlier this year at the request of the Trump administration. Adams is set to leave office at the turn of the new year, when Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani will be sworn in.