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Amid a 39-day government shutdown, Republican after Republican ran senate On Saturday, he criticized the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, calling the program a failed approach to meeting the country’s health care needs.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, RS.C. even went so far as to say that the current system may need to be replaced.
“When Obamacare was passed in 2010, you were promised that every family in America that took part would save $2,500 in premium reductions, President Obama said. That was like a 100 percent increase. This thing is not sustainable,” Graham said.
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham speaks during a press conference at St. Michael’s Square in the city center on May 30, 2025 in Kyiv, Ukraine. A bipartisan delegation from the US, including Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, arrived in Kiev for a visit (Viktor Kovalchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
“We will replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer to achieve the goal of reducing health care costs,” Graham added.
Graham wasn’t the only Republican voice opposing Obamacare.
“I hate to report that the people on the other side have refused to acknowledge the very obvious harm that Obamacare is doing across the board,” said Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis. “The problem we have in health care is that we have largely driven free market principles out of health care. That’s because of the flawed design of Obamacare. That needs to be fixed.”
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., a former health care executive and longtime critic of the program, agreed.
“This is all because of Obamacare. When the government gets involved in things, prices often go up,” Scott said.
What’s notable is that Republican criticism of Obamacare on Saturday went beyond the superficial issue hampering consideration of government funding.
The Republicans have put forward a short-term spending package that would keep the government open until November 21st, the Democrats I rejected it He urged lawmakers 14 times to first consider extending COVD-era emergency tax subsidies to Obamacare plan holders.
Republicans, who are sticking with the temporary subsidies and the expiration of which has nothing to do with government spending, have largely focused their attention on the shutdown itself rather than engaging in a debate over COVID-era aid. They have said they will negotiate the subsidies when the government reopens.
But President Donald Trump changed the picture in a post to Truth Social on Saturday morning, arguing that lawmakers should restructure the increased subsidies so that they go directly to policyholders rather than to the insurance companies that currently receive the tax credit payments.
President Donald Trump speaks during a breakfast with Senate and House Republicans in the State Dining Room of the White House, Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) (Evan Vucci/AP Photo)
In the wake of Trump’s proposal, lawmakers began denigrating the structure of Obamacare.
“Obamacare costs the federal government nearly $150 billion a year. That’s right. We’re spending $150 billion of your tax revenue to supplement other people’s health care,” said Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan.
“When they sold this to the American people, they said it would cost $40 or $50 billion, but we’re three times that. That’s $400 million a day,” he added.
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, echoed those comments, arguing that Obamacare had failed in its original design.
“It is clear that Obamacare has not kept its promises,” Ernst said. “The answer isn’t to pour more money into a broken system. What we need to do is fix what’s broken. We can end this waste.”
House Republicans have disagreed over Obamacare as Republicans seek a solution after the shutdown
Ernst is chair of the DOGE caucus. (Reuters)
Like Ernst and Marshall, Senator Jon Husted of Ohio took the floor and called on Congress to examine the source of rising health care costs.
“So I hope we want to address the costs and the reasons why health care is unaffordable in this country. Health care has increased 6% per year since the start of Obamacare, while overall inflation has been 3% or less,” Husted said.
“I hope we reopen the government and begin serving the American people while continuing the very important conversation about how we make health care more affordable,” he added.
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Although Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., kept the Senate in session over the weekend as lawmakers try to break the deadlock, it is unclear when lawmakers will next consider a spending bill.