What the Shutdown Is Really About

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Oct 8, 2025

Neera Tanden, President of the Center for American Progress and former director of Biden’s Domestic Policy Council, dives into the high-stakes policy fight surrounding healthcare. She explains why Democrats have chosen to focus on health insurance subsidies as the battleground during the government shutdown. With huge repercussions if subsidies expire, Tanden outlines the potential fallout for millions and discusses the profiles of new ACA enrollees. The conversation reveals how crucial healthcare is to voters across party lines and the political opportunities that arise from this crisis.

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INSIGHT

Shutdown's Core Is Health Care

The shutdown centers on health care because enhanced ACA premium tax credits expire at year-end.
Losing them would cause massive premium spikes and millions to lose coverage.

INSIGHT

Rescissions Undermine Bipartisan Deals

Rescissions let a simple majority claw back previously agreed funding without filibuster protection.
That prospect erodes bipartisan deal-making because deals can be undone later.

INSIGHT

Executive End-Runs Threaten Congress

Impoundments and rescissions let the executive refuse to spend Congress-allocated funds.
That shift effectively usurps Article I spending powers and weakens congressional authority.

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There’s a serious high-stakes policy fight at the heart of this.

The Democrats didn’t pick a fight over authoritarianism or tariffs or masked immigration agents in the streets. They picked one over health care. And the issue here is very real. Huge health insurance subsidies passed under President Joe Biden are set to expire at the end of this year, threatening to make health care premiums skyrocket and kick millions off their insurance.

Neera Tanden was one of the architects of the Affordable Care Act and has worked in Democratic policymaking for decades. She is the president of the Center for American Progress and was a director of Biden’s Domestic Policy Council. I asked her on the show to lay out the policy stakes of the shutdown and what a deal might look like.

Mentioned:

KFF Health Tracking Poll

The Time Tax by Annie Lowrey

One Big Beautiful Bill Act

Book Recommendations:

Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson

The Sirens’ Call by Chris Hayes

End Times by Peter Turchin

Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.

You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.

This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Rollin Hu. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris and Kate Sinclair. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Marie Cascione, Annie Galvin, Kristin Lin, Jack McCordick, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

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