GEOFF BENNETT: A former key Trump ally# plans her departure from Congress,## DOGE quietly dissolves, and Washington grapples# with rising health care costs yet again.

To discuss that and more, we turn now# to our Politics Monday duo.

That is## Amy Walter of The Cook Political Report# With Amy Walter and Tamara Keith of NPR.

It's always great to see you both.

TAMARA KEITH, National Public# Radio: G.. GEOFF BENNETT: S.. plan to deal with spiking Obamacare# premiums, but that announcement,## our White House and congressional teams are# told, was delayed after congressional Republicans## pushed back against the president's apparent# sudden embrace of these expiring subsidies.

Amy, what does this delay tell us about the# internal dynamics of the Republican Party,## especially between the White House and# Republican congressional leadership?

AMY WALTER, The Cook Political Report: Right.

So the issue of health car.. with and not really found an answer# to.

I went back because I remembered,## after John Boehner, the former speaker,# was out of office for a little while,## in 2017, when the first version of# repeal and replace the ACA came up,## he was quoted at a conference saying: I have# been in Congress for 25 years.

I have never## seen one time when Congress agreed what# a health care proposal should look like.

In other words, even before the replace and# repeal failed in 2018, he was predicting it## wasn't going to work because Republicans have such# a tough time on this issue.

So that's number one.

The second is that where the divide really# is between a president, who believes that## this is a political liability coming up in the# midterms, he sees where the polls are, he sees## how much support there is for extending these# ACA subsidies, and his Republicans in Congress,## who ideologically are deeply opposed to# everything that the ACA stands for and## many of whom voted to repeal it not that long# ago when the president was in his first term.

GEOFF BENNETT: More than 60 times.

AMY WALTER: Oh, yes, the 60 times,## and then they finally got the vote to# actually repeal it in 2017 o.. GEOFF BENNETT: Right.

Right.

Yes.

TAMARA KEITH: Yes.

GEOFF BENNETT: So, Tam, I mean, how does# .. to Amy's point, between ideological purity,# no Obamacare subsidies, and pragmatism,## you have to do something# about these premiums spiking?

AMY WALTER: Right.

TAMARA KEITH: So wha.. Republican Party, or at least he's# changed the Republican electorate.

I was just talking to a political# scientist about this today.

He has## expanded the party.

He's expanded the# tent.

He's brought in a lot of voters## who are more working class, who would be more# sensitive to these spikes in health care costs.

And he has his finger on the pulse of# his base, which is not the same as the## traditional Republican Party, or the same# as the Tea Party, which wants to make the## government smaller.

And so, when you have a# big tent -- and President Trump's presidency## has sort of helped paper over this, when# you have a big tent, there are divisions.

And what you're seeing right now is, with# such a narrow Republican majority in the## House and the Senate, those tensions between# the Libertarian wing and the populist wing or## whatever you want to call it, those tensions make# it really hard to get something done.

And now you## have Marjorie Taylor Greene leaving, which is# one fewer vote for Republicans in the House.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, what does it# say, Amy, that Republicans have had## a decade to come up with some sort of free# market solution for health care coverage... and yet they#haven't been able to settle on one?

AMY WALTER: Well, the one person who was# the most successful -- Republican who was## successful in passing real health care reform# was Mitt Romney as governor of Massachusetts... GEOFF BENNETT: Right.

AMY WALTER: ... .. GEOFF BENNETT: For Obamacare.

AMY WALTER: Exactly.

And because of that, I thi.. then we use that platform because it was# something that Democrats used.

But just## sort of building on Tam's point too about# the tension within the party, there are 13## Republicans that have stated publicly, we would# like to see these ACA extensions go forward.

They all sit in vulnerable districts, districts# that are up in 2026 that either Trump narrowly## carried or Kamala Harris carried.

But most of# the people in Congress don't sit in those kinds## of districts.

But these are the people who# will determine who's in the House majority.

GEOFF BENNETT: You mentioned Marjorie# Taylor Greene.

She announced on Friday## her resignation from Congress# effective January 5.

And that## announcement came just one week after she# criticized President Trump -- or, rather,## President Trump withdrew his support# for her after she criticized him.

But what does her sudden decision to resign tell## us about the fault lines within# the MAGA era Republican Party?

TAMARA KEITH: Well, first, it tells us that# being a member of Congress just isn't that great.## And you have seen a lot of members of Congress# complain about certain -- complain any number## of things, experiencing threats to their# families, and just the general unpleasantness.

There are some ways to see this as# a victory for President Trump.

She## criticized him.

She wasn't just -- it# wasn't just the Epstein files.

It was## on the economy.

It was on Venezuela.

It# was on other foreign entanglements.

She## was becoming a critic from inside the# party.

And that was a problem for him.

And rather than sticking it out and# fighting, she said, all right, peace,## I'm out.

And so, in some ways, that's a# win for President Trump.

In other ways,## it's a sign that these fissures exist and# people are already thinking about what the## party looks like when he's no longer# the leader who sort of blocks the sun## and prevents others in the party from defining# what the Republican Party really is going forward.

GEOFF BENNETT: Could her resignation# trigger a ripple effect where you have## other far right members, MAGA-aligned# folks break away from President Trump?

AMY WALTER: So I think she was# a unique figure, in that, look,## she came into Congress and instantly went for# the shiny object and being in the spotlight.

And you could make the other case that she just# got too close to that spotlight and it singed## her and now it's over.

But you can also say# that, going back to Tam's point about what the## Trump coalition looks like now,# if you look both at polling and at## election results that have happened, the# elections that have happened since 2025,## what you see is a MAGA base, the core# Trump base, they still like him a lot.

They're going to stick with him.

It's that# periphery coalition, the younger voters,## the Latino voters, the independents.

When# you see his numbers among those voters,## those were people who they weren't ever# assigning themselves the MAGA label.## They voted for Donald Trump because they# thought he was going to do certain things,## especially on the economy, and now# they don't see those things happening.

And so he's losing favor with them.

That is the# bigger threat to the Trump agenda going forward,## meaning, what will the Trump coalition look like# in 2028?

Those are the voters who determine that.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, I mentioned the# dissolution of DOGE in the intro.

And## lucky for us we still have time to talk about it.

So, Tam, so DOGE, the Department of# Government Efficiency, is dissolving## ahead of schedule.

This organization,# agency, however you want to describe it,## they claim to have cut tens of billions of# dollars in spending.

They have provided no## verifiable accounting.

How wide# is the accountability gap here?

TAMARA KEITH: Yes, they never provided# the receipts for all of these cuts that## they claimed to make.

Many of the cuts# that they claimed to make weren't real.## Others were extremely inefficient, which# led to actually more spending, not less.

And the reality is that DOGE has# basically been dead since the summer,## since President Trump's falling out with# Elon Musk.

They have sort of repaired## that relationship now.

But DOGE was more an# idea than it ever was a practical reality.

GEOFF BENNETT: What's it say about the# feasibility of rapid-fire bureaucratic## overhaul in a federal government# that's built on bureaucracy?

AMY WALTER: Yes, I think the one thing# it was successful in doing though, Geoff,## is that it has fundamentally altered the way# that agencies work and may be working far,## far beyond just the four years of Trump's term.

GEOFF BENNETT: Well, we covered# a ton of ground on this Monday.

Amy Walter, Tamara Keith, thanks, as always.

AMY WALTER: You're welcome.

TAMARA KEITH: You're welcome.