In a live CNBC appearance on October 27, 2025, Sen. Rubén Gallego of Arizona sparred with Squawk Box co-host Joe Kernen over Democrats’ push to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies during the ongoing government shutdown, leading Kernen to cut the interview short.
In Monday’s segment on CNBC’s Squawk Box, host Joe Kernen pressed Sen. Rubén Gallego (D-Ariz.) on Democrats’ conditions for reopening the government, centering on the pending expiration of enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits.
Kernen repeatedly asked what he said was a $1.5 trillion price tag tied to Democrats’ broader health-care asks, contrasting it with estimates that extending the enhanced ACA subsidies would cost about $40 billion for one year or roughly $300–$350 billion over a decade. Gallego replied, “I’m sorry, are you an insurance broker?” and argued Democrats were seeking to prevent steep premium hikes for “24 million Americans.” He also said the lapse would hit “500,000” people in Arizona. Independent estimates support the national figure and the risk of premium spikes; federal snapshots show roughly 410,000–425,000 Arizonans selected marketplace plans for 2025, suggesting the affected state population may be lower than Gallego’s rough estimate.
Kernen pressed again on the $1.5 trillion figure — a number Republicans have used to characterize Democrats’ combined push to make enhanced ACA subsidies permanent and to reverse recent Medicaid cuts — while Gallego maintained Democrats were “not demanding anything,” beyond protecting consumers from sharp premium increases. As the back-and-forth intensified, Kernen ended the interview, telling Gallego, “We’re finished.”
A separate clip circulating on social media — and highlighted by the Daily Wire — shows Kernen asking Gallego about past remarks on prior GOP-led shutdowns and includes Gallego responding, “I don’t know and I don’t care.” That exchange appears in partisan clips posted online; CNBC’s on-air segment verified by independent media shows the interview becoming heated over the ACA issue and then ending abruptly, but additional context for the “I don’t care” remark could not be independently confirmed.
Context: Marketplace enrollment has roughly doubled since the enhanced ACA tax credits were introduced and later extended through 2025. Nonpartisan analyses indicate that, without another extension, most marketplace enrollees would face significantly higher out-of-pocket premiums next year. Estimates of the 10‑year cost of making the enhanced subsidies permanent vary by source but generally fall in the mid‑$300 billion range, far below $1.5 trillion; Republicans arrive at the larger figure by adding other Democratic health policy aims to the tally. Those broader differences underpin the shutdown standoff that framed Monday’s exchange.