EDITORIAL: Republicans should focus on our wins, not waste time on the Democrats’ best issue
Republicans in Congress should focus on our substantial wins for the American people, instead of falling into Democrats’ trap by making healthcare a prominent issue leading into the 2026 midterms.
Every Republican who has been around politics has seen the polling showing that healthcare as an issue is popular for the Democrats and unpopular for Republicans. This is not new.
But now Republicans in the House and Senate are concluding that, because we are seeing alarming polls about healthcare, Republicans should introduce sweeping healthcare legislation to remake the system.
There are legitimate concerns about premium spikes for a small group of Americans on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges. These increases are by big insurers — some of which are top Democrat donors — and a broken system designed to fail.
However, as senior Republican operatives and as former Hill staffers, our advice is simple: do not interpret weak polling as a mandate to introduce sweeping healthcare legislation. The instinct to respond is understandable. It is also politically dangerous.
The truth is there is no easy healthcare fix. Our system is broken and any change will involve painful tradeoffs. The best fix — cleaning up fraud in Medicaid — was already part of reconciliation. Even if another fix existed, Democrats would never give President Donald Trump a bipartisan healthcare win.
Today’s repeated and failed Senate votes made that clear. That reality will not change in an election year.
A Republican-driven push for major reforms will simply increase attention on an issue where Republicans routinely lose. The last thing the party needs is for Sen. Bill Cassidy (R., La.) to see his re-election campaign defined by healthcare. That would invite anti-incumbent sentiment and elevate an issue that benefits Democrats.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) has the right approach. His focus on expanding Health Savings Accounts is practical and limited enough that voters will understand it. Polls show that most Americans are satisfied with their healthcare but are mad about the costs of groceries, housing, and clothes. That is why it is much more prudent for Republicans to focus on affordability broadly instead of trying to remake the healthcare system.
President Trump gets it too. He is right to say Republicans do not need a second reconciliation bill on healthcare. The president lived this lesson in his first term after the failed attempt to repeal Obamacare led to midterm losses. Republicans already delivered massive policy wins on the first reconciliation bill. We would be much better off selling our wins than focusing on a politically-losing topic.
It is in Republicans best interest for Chairmen Jodey Arrington (R., Tx.), Jason Smith (R., Mo.), and Brett Guthrie (R., Ky) to be focused on explaining the massive wins they delivered in reconciliation including no tax on tips, no tax on overtime, and getting non-citizens off of Medicaid. Those are winning issues that give us the best chance of keeping the gavels.
If Republicans head into 2026 focused on healthcare, it would be the equivalent of Democrats entering 2024 focused on legislation about President Joe Biden’s mental state. It is not a winning issue.
President Trump has substantial achievements to promote. Gas prices are at a four-year low. The border is secure. Republicans should champion these accomplishments and refuse to get dragged onto political ground that favors Democrats.