On Tuesday’s broadcast of CNN’s “The Lead,” Senate Minority Whip Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) responded to a question on how Democrats can prove they can actually deliver on affordability by saying that Democrats learned their lesson from the 2024 election and that the bottom line is that Democrats want “to extend these payment plans so that people can afford to pay their health insurance.”
Host Jake Tapper asked, “Senator, Republicans are now trying to talk about affordability, making that part of their playbook going into the 2026 midterms. How should Democrats prove to voters that they can deliver on the affordability issue, considering Democrats lost on affordability, pretty handily, in 2024?”
Durbin answered, “But we got the message, Jake, and let’s get down to the bottom line here. This week, the Republicans are going to have a chance to join us and address one of the two major issues people worry about when it comes to affordability, healthcare costs and housing costs. We’re going to deal with this healthcare issue, and if a dozen or 13 Republican senators will join us, we’re going to extend these payment plans so that people can afford to pay their health insurance.”
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