• Join Puck

    Directly Supporting Authors

    A new economic model in which writers are also partners in the business.

    Personalized Subscriptions

    Customize your settings to receive the newsletters you want from the authors you follow.

    Stay in the Know

    Connect directly with Puck talent through email and exclusive events.

  • What is puck? Newsletters Authors Podcasts Events Gift Puck Careers

The G.O.P.’s Healthcare Groundhog Day

Once again, Republicans are trying to repeal Obamacare—and once again, leadership doesn’t appear to have any clear plan for what should replace it. Democrats, already anticipating an election year with the wind at their backs, couldn’t be more pleased.

Mike Johnson
In a meeting Tuesday night, Mike Johnson tried and failed to reach consensus with the leaders of the House Republican factions known as the “five families.” Still, with only six days left in session and facing a self-imposed deadline of holding a healthcare vote by the end of the year, the speaker plunged ahead. Photo: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg/Getty Images
Leigh Ann Caldwell
December 10, 2025

Join Puck to listen to this article

More than 15 years after the Affordable Care Act was signed into law, it’s more popular than ever: According to new polling by Gallup, 57 percent of Americans approve of Obama’s signature healthcare bill, including 63 percent of independents. Yet Republicans—who failed to stop Obamacare, repeatedly failed to overturn it, and have never managed to unite behind an alternative plan—are once again agitating to relitigate that debate.