BY TYLER DURDEN
FRIDAY, OCT 24, 2025 – 11:05 AM
As the government shutdown enters its 24th day with no end in sight, White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair says the Trump administration has no intention of backing down on the dispute at the heart of the impasse: the expiring enhanced Obamacare premium tax credits.
President Donald Trump at the White House on Oct. 14. Photo: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg
In an interview with Punchbowl News on Thursday, Blair – who oversees legislative, political and public affairs for President Trump – framed the credits as “subsidies to insurance companies,” signaling that the administration is unwilling to negotiate on their extension.
"These insurance subsidies, and to be clear, these are subsidies to insurance companies," Blair said. "They don’t actually go to people. They’ve been artificially masking the cost of premiums. OK? They put these in during the Covid era.… [Democrats] voted not once, but twice, to make this program temporary that we’re now discussing and for them to expire."
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