Trump told Republicans not to “waste” their time on extending the enhanced ACA subsidies set to expire, saying he’d only support “sending the money directly back to the people.”

Republicans are careening to a health care cliff with no solution in hand. An estimated 22 million people in the U.S. are about to see their health insurance premiums soar by, in some cases, thousands of dollars per month, as billions in funding for the Affordable Care Act expires on Dec. 31. The expiring funds, costing about $35 billion per year, were first passed during the pandemic to subsidize insurance payments, capping premiums for a “benchmark” ACA, or “Obamacare,” plan to 8.5% of income.