Obamacare & Government Bloat Exposed as Shutdown Nears an End

Summary

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The 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson

Episode Title: Obamacare & Government Bloat Exposed as Shutdown Nears an End
Date: November 12, 2025
Host: Ben Ferguson | Premiere Networks

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Main Theme & Purpose

This episode centers on the imminent end of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, with analysis of its impacts—especially on federal employees and air travel—as well as sharp commentary on Obamacare and the size of the federal government. Ben Ferguson updates listeners on legislative negotiations, the timeline for reopening, and what it exposes about American government.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Government Shutdown: The End in Sight

• Shutdown Overview (02:53–05:20):
  • The government shutdown is nearing a formal end after 40 days.
  • Democrats, according to Speaker Mike Johnson, have “finally” agreed to a deal to reopen the government after holding out.
• Reopening Logistics (03:46–05:20):
  • Senate voted 60-40 to advance an amended House continuing resolution (CR).
  • The deal includes:
    • Funding of SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) through September 2026.
    • Guaranteed back pay for all furloughed federal workers.
    • Passage of three appropriations bills: Military Construction/Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, and Legislative Branch.
  • Senate will need unanimous consent to fast-track a final vote; the House will be called into session with 36 hours’ notice once the Senate acts.

2. Air Travel Disruption

• Impact During Shutdown (05:21–07:20, 09:11–09:39):
  • Air traffic controllers working without pay, leading to mass sick calls.
  • As of Sunday, nearly half of U.S. flights were delayed or canceled.
  • Lawmakers driving to Washington due to unreliable flights.
  • Recovery of air travel may take several days even after reopening.

3. Behind the Negotiations

• Speaker Johnson’s Perspective (03:46–09:03):
  • Republicans, he claims, were always ready to negotiate on healthcare costs but not under “hostage” conditions.
  • Urges both parties—especially House Democrats—to “put principle over personal politics.”
• Presidential Involvement (09:23–09:33):
  • Ben Ferguson notes President Trump called the deal "very good" and is expected to sign it into law immediately.

4. Obamacare Critique

• Subsidy Extension Debate (09:45–11:00):
  • Expiring healthcare subsidies for 24 million Americans were part of the shutdown stalemate.
  • Ben Ferguson uses this to point out Obamacare's failures, citing rising premiums.
  • Quoting Ana Navarro on CNN: “American health care premiums are going up 100, 200, 300%. I thought Obamacare fixed that. It didn’t. It didn’t fix it. It’s a disaster.” (11:00)
  • Recalls Nancy Pelosi’s famous remark: “We won’t know what’s in the bill until we pass the bill”—describing it as indicative of flawed government processes.

5. Government "Bloat"

• Scope of Shutdown’s Impact (12:01–13:00):
  • Ferguson argues most Americans’ daily lives went unaffected by the prolonged shutdown.
  • He claims this demonstrates that “our government has gotten way too big, and our government should be a lot smaller than it actually is right now.”

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson

• On the End of the Shutdown
  “After 40 days of wandering in the wilderness and making the American people suffer needlessly, some Senate Democrats finally have stepped forward to end the pain. It appears to us this morning that our long national nightmare is finally coming to an end…”
  (04:00–04:30)
• On Air Travel Strain
  “Our air traffic controllers are overworked and unpaid, and many of them have called in sick. That’s a very stressful job and even more stressful exponentially when they’re having trouble providing for their families... As of Sunday, nearly half of all domestic flights… were either canceled or delayed.”
  (07:00–07:50)
• On Congressional Urgency
  “You need to begin right now, returning to the Hill… We look forward to the government reopening this week so Congress can get back to a regular legislative session. We have a lot of business to do…”
  (08:00–08:35)

Ben Ferguson

• On Obamacare
  “Obamacare is an utter disaster. It is a total disaster. And everyone knows it, by the way… It is very easy to understand that this is going to bankrupt us. So there’s going to have to be reform…”
  (11:00–11:30)
• On Government Size
  “The majority of Americans’ lives have really not been affected at all by the government shutdown. I think that’s actually pretty incredible… Our government has gotten way too big, and our government should be a lot smaller than it actually is right now.”
  (12:05–12:45)

CNN’s Ana Navarro (quoted by Ben Ferguson)

• On Healthcare Premiums
  “American health care premiums are going up 100, 200, 300%. I thought Obamacare fixed that. It didn’t. It didn’t fix it.”
  (11:05)

Nancy Pelosi (paraphrased/quoted by Ben Ferguson)

• On Uncertainty in Legislation
  “We won’t know what’s in the bill until we pass the bill. And that is Obamacare summed up perfectly.”
  (11:45)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:35 – Ben Ferguson: Show introduction, government shutdown focus.
• 02:53 – Government shutdown ends; details on compromise and timeline.
• 03:46 – Speaker Johnson’s press conference: Shutdown resolution steps.
• 05:21 – Impact on air travel and government workers.
• 09:11 – Reactions from lawmakers; travel difficulties; legislative timeline.
• 09:45 – Obamacare subsidies debate; critique of the ACA and premium increases.
• 11:00 – Ben Ferguson and Ana Navarro’s critique of Obamacare and government spending.
• 12:01 – Reflection on the minimal disruption to most Americans; criticisms of government size.
• 13:08 – Episode wraps up with a call to subscribe.

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Summary Flow & Utility

This episode delivers an inside look at the political maneuvering and practical realities surrounding the end of the historic government shutdown. Speaker Johnson lays out a detailed roadmap to reopening, highlights the severe stresses on federal workers and services (especially in air travel), and calls out partisanship for causing unnecessary suffering.

Ben Ferguson contextualizes these events with a recurring critique: that Obamacare remains deeply flawed—citing premium hikes and reliance on subsidies—and the shutdown illustrates just how oversized and inefficient the U.S. government has become. Notable quotes from politicians and commentators (as well as a paraphrase of Nancy Pelosi’s infamous Obamacare comment) reinforce these points, all in Ferguson's signature opinionated style.

Listeners come away understanding both the nuts-and-bolts process of reopening the government and the episode’s broader arguments about healthcare reform and government size.

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Transcript

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[Ben Ferguson]

You're listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson.

Good Wednesday morning. So nice to have you with us on the 47 Morning Update. And we've got one big story for you this morning and that is the government reopening. So how is it going to work? How long is there going to be chaos at America's airports and the cancellation of flights at record numbers? When will Americans get paid that work for our government? We've got those answers for you.

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[Ben Ferguson]

It's the 47 Morning Update and it starts Right now, story number Government shutdown is over. Sort of Democrats caving, and they are finally saying we can open the government again. This is the longest government shutdown in history. But the real question is for many of you is, well, when will things actually be reopened? How much chaos is there going to be in the skies? When will people start getting their paychecks? Maybe you or your family members who have been furloughed in, in essence, by our government? Well, we have a lot of answers to those questions. And the speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, called Republicans and Democrats back to Washington to vote on the bill to get the government back open. Here are all the details of what Speaker Johnson had to say about moving forward, how things are going to work.

[Speaker of the House Mike Johnson]

Very thankful to see you all this morning. I'm thankful to welcome you to what appears to be the beginning of the end of the longest government shutdown in US History. As shameful as that is, I don't think it's coincidental. You know how I think. But it's after 40 days of wandering in the wilderness and making the American people suffer needlessly, some Senate Democrats finally have stepped forward to end the pain. It appears to us this morning that our long national nightmare is finally coming to an end, and we're grateful for that. At least some Democrats now finally appear ready to do what Republicans and President Trump and millions of hardworking American people have been asking them to do for weeks. As we said from the beginning, the people's government cannot be held hostage to further anyone's political agenda. That was never right. And shutting down the government never produces anything. It never has if you study history. And so here we are. I want to remind everybody this morning of another critical point that you've heard me hear repeat over and over over the last several weeks. It's something that I and Leader John Thune and President Trump and every, every Republican leader have all said repeatedly from the beginning, we have always been open to finding solutions to reduce the oppressive costs of health care under the Unaffordable Care Act. We just made clear that we would not and should not ever do that, that is negotiate as hostages. And I've also reminded you here every morning that this press conference throughout the shutdown, Republicans have not just been talking about reducing costs and fraud and abuse in so many areas and in health care, we've been actually passing new laws to accomplish that urgent mission for the people, and we will continue to do so. So here's where we are by way of schedule. Just so you know, you're following. And if you're not at home, if you're waking up to this good news this morning that the Senate's vote last late last night of 60 to 40 opens the door. Now the Senate is moving forward on an amended House CR continuing resolution that will reopen the government until January 30th. Added to that are provisions to fully fund SNAP provisions through the end of the next fiscal year, which is September 2026, guaranteed back pay for all federal workers who have been made to endure these hardships over the last several weeks. And it also includes passage of three appropriations bills which we're grateful to be moving through the process. That is the Military Construction Veterans affairs bill, it's the Agriculture bill and the Legislative Branch bill. The Senate will be back in session this morning to finish their job, and we're certainly praying that they do. They'll need unanimous consent from all senators to fast track their final vote. As you know, there are some procedural hurdles that one or more could throw in the way, but we certainly hope that they won't do that because so many people across this country are desperate for the government to reopen at the very moment that they do that final vote. I will call all House members to return to Washington as quickly as possible. We'll give a 36 hour formal and official notice so that we can vote as soon as possible to pass the amended CR bill and get it to the president's desk, as you all know. And he said as recently as last night, I was with him and he told the press, he said, we want to get the government open. He's very anxious to get the government reopened and to end the Schumer shutdown. We all are. With regard to the travel challenges, I spoke yesterday at some length with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, my former colleague and good friend, and he lamented the serious situation that we have with air travel in the US he's bent over backwards, as all members of the administration and the Cabinet have done in all of their areas of jurisdiction to try to keep the government working for the people and to mitigate the pain and the harm. But the problem we have with air travel is that our air traffic controllers are overworked and unpaid, and many of them have called in sick. That's a very stressful job and even more stressful exponentially when they're having trouble providing for their families. And so air travel has been grinding to a halt in many places. And as of Sunday, nearly half of all domestic flights and US Flights were either canceled or delayed. And it's a very serious situation. So I'm saying that by way of reminder, I'm stating the obvious to all my colleagues, Republicans and Democrats in the House. You need to begin right now, returning to the Hill. We have to do this as quickly as possible. We look forward to the government reopening this week so Congress can get back, can get back to a regular legislative session. We have a lot of business to do, as you all know, and we will be working in earnest. There will be long days and long nights here for the foreseeable future to make up for all this lost time that was imposed upon us. I want to close with something that's important. I think it's important to say that this is genuine. I mean this sincerely. We applaud the seven Senate Democrats and one independent senator who did the right thing. They decided to put principle over their personal politics. And my urgent plea of all my colleagues in the House, and that means every Democrat in the House is to think carefully, pray and finally do the right thing and help us to bring an end to the pain of the American people. This has gone on too long. Too many people have suffered and it's long overdue. That's the update I wanted to give you this morning. There are probably lots of questions, but I'm going to get a lot of my own questions answered later today. So stay tuned for more. Thanks.

[Ben Ferguson]

So there it is, the speaker of the House explaining exactly how this is going to go down and how quickly.

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We could see things turn back to normal.

[Ben Ferguson]

It's going to be a little chilly, but I will do my duty. I'm getting back to D.C. and we're going to open this country back up and get it back on track. That is another aspect of what has been said by many Republicans are saying, hey, we've got thousands of flights canceled in recent days due to shutdown. Some lawmakers opted for the modes of transportation the Capitol like they're actually driving. One Republican Representative Derek Van Orden, said he was making the 16 hour drive from his Wisconsin district because air travel was just too unreliable. And the Republican controlled House is due to vote Wednesday afternoon on a compromise that would restore funding the government agencies and end a shutdown that started on October 1st. The Republican controlled Senate approved the deal Monday night. House Speaker Johnson said he expected to be passed his chamber as well. And then President Donald Trump has come out calling the deal very good. He's expected to obviously sign it into law immediately. Now, within days, the US Government could be fully functioning again, bring relief to federal workers who have missed Paychecks and low income families who defend on food subsidies as well. It could take several days. And this is the problem. So many have asked me about this. It could take several days for the nation's air travel system to return to normal. The deal, by the way, which has divided Democrats because they love holding you hostage, had sought to extend health care subsidies for 24 million Americans past the end of the year when they were due to expire. Now this also tells you just how broken Obamacare is, that these types of subsidies are actually needed. Um, yesterday it was very interesting on cnn. One of the things that was said there on CNN about the subsidies was that they were talking about like how much they'd actually gone up, like how much the subsidies had skyrocketed. And you just kind of have to laugh when you see that. Anavarro said, quote, american health care premiums are going up 100, 200, 300%. I thought Obamacare fixed that. It didn't. It didn't fix it. It's a disaster. It's going to be another thing that could easily bankrupt this country. You want to know why we're in so much debt right now when you have premiums in Obamacare going up again? I want to make sure I quote on a. Navarro correctly. 100, 200, 300%. Obamacare is an utter disaster. It is a total disaster. And everyone knows it, by the way. Like this is not something that's hard to figure out. It is very easy to understand that this is going to bankrupt us. So there's going to have to be reform with Obamacare. There's no way around it, okay? Like there's just no way around it. We have to have major reform here and if we don't, then it will continue to be a political football and it will continue to be a political disaster. And, and Democrats knew this. I go back to what did Nancy Pelosi say? Her words, not mine. We won't know what's in the bill until we pass the bill. And that is Obamacare summed up perfectly. We won't know what's in the bill until we pass the bill. And so when we pass the bill, we'll figure it out later. Well, it's just a big old government subsidy. That's all it is. It's just a government subsidy. One other thing I want to say about this government shutdown, I think it also tells you just how bloated our government is. The majority of Americans lives have really not been affected at all by the government shutdown. I think that's actually pretty incredible that we think our government is just so important. And in reality, it's really not. It's just not. Our government has gotten way too big, and our government should be a lot smaller than it actually is right now. All right. Don't forget, share this show, share the podcast wherever you can. We'll keep you updated on the government shutdown. What's happening with the government shutdown, obviously, as we're going to continue to see this move forward.

Thank you for listening to the 47 Morning Update with Ben Ferguson. Please make sure you hit subscribe wherever you're listening to this podcast right now. And for more in depth news, also subscribe to the Ben Ferguson Podcast and we will see you back here tomorrow.

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