U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) abruptly left the Senate floor after a heated exchange with Senator Bernie Moreno (R-OH) on Thursday during ongoing negotiations to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
The confrontation centered on Schumer’s proposal to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies for one year, a move Republicans say would continue COVID-era benefits for high-income earners and contribute to waste and fraud.
The exchange occurred as the Senate remains gridlocked on day 38 of the shutdown, with federal employees including air traffic controllers working without pay and agencies partially closed.
Schumer and Senate Democrats have voted 14 times against Republican-led measures to reopen the government, insisting that any funding agreement include an extension of ACA subsidies.
During the floor discussion, Senator Moreno asked Schumer whether Democrats had a formal proposal in writing to reform or fix the Affordable Care Act.
Schumer admitted that no written counterproposal had been submitted.
“We can’t give you a counter in writing, but it’s very simple,” Schumer said. “Because we have two sentences we would add to any proposal which would extend the ACA benefits for one year.”
Moreno pressed the issue, pointing out that the Affordable Care Act currently has no income cap, allowing even multimillionaires to qualify for taxpayer-funded subsidies.
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“It does still have no income caps, so people who make $1, $2, $3 million a year,” Moreno said before Schumer interrupted.
“Once we pass the one-year fixed so people right now aren’t in difficulty, we would sit and negotiate that,” Schumer replied.
“The leader has said that he won’t negotiate before. We’re willing to negotiate once the credits are extended, plain and simple.”
Moreno continued questioning, asking, “So for one year, people making millions of dollars would still receive these COVID-era subsidies?”
At that point, Schumer accused Moreno of defending billionaires, then yielded the floor and walked away.
Following Schumer’s exit, Moreno addressed the chamber.
“I was going to ask him before he stormed out of the room because evidently he doesn’t want to hear any opposing views or actually engage in meaningful negotiation,” Moreno said.
“Would he continue 0 dollar premiums, which we know for a FACT have enormous levels of fraud?”
Moreno added that had Schumer remained, he intended to ask a third question: “Does he want these monies to go directly to insurance companies?”
WATCH: @SenSchumer abruptly walks off the floor as he was being questioned by Sen. @BernieMoreno about his proposal to end the shutdown.
Moreno asked Schumer if his proposal was in writing that people could look at.. and if people making millions would still receive the… pic.twitter.com/aRxzdYV5Fx
— Amber Jo Cooper (@AmberJoCooper) November 8, 2025
The exchange, first reported by The Daily Wire, highlighted the growing frustration between the two parties as the shutdown entered its sixth week.
Democrats continue to push for the ACA subsidy extension as part of any deal to fund the government, while Republicans have rejected the demand, arguing it has nothing to do with reopening federal operations.
Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-SD) reaffirmed that Republicans will only consider what he described as a “clean” funding bill to restore government operations.
“The Obamacare extension is the negotiation,” Thune said earlier this week, indicating that the GOP sees Democrats’ health care demand as a separate issue.
Earlier in the day, President Donald Trump weighed in on the matter, calling on Senate Republicans to redirect health care subsidy funds directly to consumers rather than insurance companies.
“Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently being sent to money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare,” Trump said in a Truth Social post.
It should “be sent directly to the people so that they can purchase their own, much better, healthcare, and have money left over.”
The confrontation between Schumer and Moreno reflects deep divisions over the role of the Affordable Care Act in current budget negotiations.
With the government shutdown extending past five weeks, both chambers remain deadlocked, and prospects for a compromise appear uncertain.
Negotiations are expected to continue into next week as lawmakers seek a deal to restore federal operations and address growing pressure from workers and constituents affected by the funding lapse.
