The government is shut down. Thousands of federal workers are furloughed or working without pay. National Parks are losing millions in revenue. Air travelers face delays. And U.S. Sen. Mike Lee has staked out an ultraconservative, anti-Obamacare position unsupported by much of the GOP caucus.<\/p>\n
What year is it?<\/p>\n
More than three weeks into a government shutdown, some Utahns may be experiencing a sense of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu: Twelve years after first making a shutdown stand against the Affordable Care Act, the current closure has offered Lee an opportunity to revive the protest that first thrust him into the national spotlight \u2014 and it\u2019s putting him at odds with a growing number of his Republican colleagues.<\/p>\n
\u201cHealthcare will keep getting more expensive until we repeal Obamacare,\u201d he wrote on the social media platform X<\/a> earlier this month. \u201cSo Congress should repeal Obamacare. Republicans ran on this for a decade. We shouldn\u2019t run from it now.\u201d<\/p>\n Affordable Care Act funding is once again central to a government shutdown fight as Democrats demand that Republicans agree to a permanent extension of pandemic-era enhanced premium tax credits that millions of Americans \u2014 and thousands of Utahns<\/a> \u2014 rely on to pay for marketplace insurance.<\/p>\n The enhanced tax credits were passed in 2021 and expanded who was eligible for subsidies beyond 400% of the poverty level in an attempt to address COVID-era health concerns. They are currently set to expire at the end of the year.<\/p>\n And while most lawmakers debate the possibility of a subsidy extension, with some Republicans now saying<\/a> such conversations<\/a> should happen after Senate Democrats agree to a continuing resolution and the government is again open, Lee remains consistent in his call to do away with the program entirely. <\/p>\n Lee\u2019s office did not respond to a request for comment or an interview regarding his calls for a full repeal of the ACA and what sort of legislation \u2014 if any \u2014 he would support in its stead. Nor did he answer what the potential impact of such a repeal would be on his Utah constituents.<\/p>\n The roots of Lee\u2019s anti-ACA fight<\/p>\n (Evan Vucci | AP) Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, left, and Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, in Oct. 2013, a month after Cruz’s filibuster on the Senate floor.<\/p>\n In August of 2013, Lee \u2014 who was two and a half years into his Senate tenure \u2014 held a town hall meeting in Spanish Fork, where he laid out his opposition to the recently-passed Affordable Care Act.<\/p>\n The program was set to take effect in the coming months, and Lee warned the crowd of constituents that if the fullness of the law went into effect, he felt it would be nearly impossible to undo.<\/p>\n \u201cIf it does kick in, we will look for every opportunity to stop it, but it will be really, really difficult at that point,\u201d he said at the time<\/a>. \u201cThere are few things more permanent than a really big entitlement program.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the fact that he had spent much of the summer threatening to shut down the government in an effort, the Tea Party Republican told the crowd he didn\u2019t think a shutdown was necessary: \u201cI have never asked for a shutdown. I don\u2019t want a shutdown. We don\u2019t need a shutdown.\u201d <\/p>\n Less than two months later, however, Lee was instrumental in forcing a closure<\/a>. He allied with Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, and the pair refused to vote for any continuing resolution that funded Obamacare. <\/p>\n \u201cDemocrats and the administration are counting on Republicans withering and waving the white flag of surrender to their takeover of our economy and health care system,\u201d he wrote in a fundraising email<\/a> a few days into the 2013 government shutdown. \u201cPersonally, I\u2019m not ready to give in easily, and I don\u2019t think the American people are either.\u201d<\/p>\n But it didn\u2019t work. While Lee was confident at the time<\/a> that Republicans would stick together, the gambit fell apart.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople recognize that the original goal of defunding Obamacare is unattainable at this point,\u201d then-Rep. Chris Stewart of the 2nd Congressional District said as the 16-day shutdown came to a close<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Affordable Care Act survived \u2014 but Lee also made a national name for himself.<\/p>\n \u201cMike Lee is extraordinary. He is brilliant, deeply principled and utterly fearless,\u201d Cruz, then a freshman lawmaker, said in a statement to The Salt Lake Tribune<\/a> at the time. \u201cThose are rare \u2014 bordering on unique \u2014 qualities in Washington. From day one, Sen. Lee has led the fight against Obamacare, and there is no senator more committed to the Constitution than Mike Lee. Utah has done the nation a tremendous service by sending such a passionate warrior for liberty to the U.S. Senate.\u201d<\/p>\n New political landscape, same argument<\/p>\n Twelve years later, more than 24 million Americans get their insurance through the ACA marketplace, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services<\/a>. And Lee hasn\u2019t changed his mind. <\/p>\n \u201cWe should admit the truth. Socialized medicine doesn\u2019t work. Obamacare doesn\u2019t work,\u201d he wrote on X earlier this month<\/a>. \u201cIt never will. It should be repealed.\u201d<\/p>\n A major difference today, however, is the fact that so many thousands of his constituents now benefit from the program: Nearly 12% of Utahns receive their health insurance through the ACA, and Utah is the state with the fourth highest Obamacare enrollment<\/a> in the country, according to a Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute report.<\/p>\n And despite the widespread Republican opposition to the program, the caucus has struggled, even while in control in Washington, to roll back the ACA. In fact, as Lee pushes for repeal, a growing number of his Republican colleagues are beginning to concede to an expansion of the program.<\/p>\n Last month, ten House Republicans signed onto a bill<\/a> that would extend the enhanced subsidies through January 2027.<\/p>\n \u201cAlthough it is time to end all COVID-related incentives, we must be mindful of the impact this will have on families covered by the Affordable Care Act,\u201d the bill\u2019s lead sponsor, Virginia Republican Rep. Jen Kiggans, said in a statement. \u201cCongress needs to develop a responsible, sustainable plan before these COVID credits expire. Raising costs for families with little notice, and potentially stripping them of access to care, is simply unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n And although none of Utah\u2019s representatives have signed on to cosponsor the bill, several of them have expressed openness to an extension in some form.<\/p>\n (Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) U.S. Sen. John Curtis moderates a panel on forest fires at the Conservative Climate Summit at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Friday, Oct. 17, 2025.<\/p>\n At an appearance at the University of Utah last week<\/a>, Sen. John Curtis said he was \u201cvery sympathetic\u201d to the issue of rising premiums and \u201cwould love to have a discussion about it.\u201d But first, the senator argued, the shutdown must come to an end.<\/p>\n Rep. Mike Kennedy, a physician representing Utah\u2019s 3rd Congressional District, said earlier this month<\/a> that he was \u201cvery interested in that debate and discussion.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI think there\u2019s a way for us to [develop a] glide path to those [credits ending] and it\u2019s something that we should talk about,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n Rep. Blake Moore of the 1st District, meanwhile, said<\/a> of a potential extension that he would \u201cnever say I\u2019m not willing to negotiate.\u201d<\/p>\n All three of them, along with Rep. Celeste Maloy of the 3rd District, said they think the discussion about extending the tax credits should not be part of the shutdown fight, and none have said they would support a permanent extension.<\/p>\n What now?<\/p>\n Utah\u2019s congressional delegation blames Democrats for the expiration, as they were in control of Congress when the enhanced subsidies were originally passed, despite the fact that Republicans currently control all three branches of government.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re panicked because everyone will be stuck with plain, actual Obamacare \u2014 which is a dismal failure,\u201d Lee wrote on X last week<\/a>. \u201c[T]he pandemic-specific add-on they now want to extend is expiring because they themselves set it to expire at the end of this year.\u201d<\/p>\n But if Republicans are serious about letting the subsidies expire, which could cause premiums to skyrocket, what kind of legislation do they think is right to address Americans\u2019 health care needs?<\/p>\n \u201cExempting employer-provided health insurance from taxation was one of the first issues that inappropriately incentivized the employer-sponsored model over the individual consumer model,\u201d Lee\u2019s website reads. \u201cWhile immediately ending the tax deduction for healthcare provided through an employer would be unsettling for many Americans, Senator Lee believes its reform must be a topic for debate.\u201d <\/p>\n Additionally, Lee supports the \u201cliberalization\u201d of health savings accounts, which he argues would \u201callow Americans to save more for their health-care needs, allow them to transfer from jobs without losing their insurance, and equip them to be more active and engaged consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n But twelve years after the 2013 shutdown, most Republicans have moved on from the question of repealing Obamacare, and instead focus on the enhanced tax credits \u2014 a fight happening in Lee\u2019s backyard.<\/p>\n