Eliminating Obamacare tops Zach Nunn’s legislative wishlist

Iowa Rep. Zach Nunn voted to revive Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) tax credits, but he still says his ultimate goal is to abolish the popular health care program.

More than 126,000 Iowans have seen their insurance premiums rise since the credits expired on Jan. 1. Nunn backed a Democratic bill to extend the credits for three more years, as did 16 other House Republicans facing tough reelection fights.

“Let me be very clear, I’m not in favor of the ACA going forward,” Nunn told a meeting of GOP voters in Urbandale on Jan. 28. “I want the ACA gone as much as any of you. But I’m not going to leave 126,000 Iowans to wait for Congress to get its job done.”

He added that Republicans have a bill ready to “immediately end” Obamacare.

The bill to extend credits passed the House on Jan. 8 with 230 votes. It is unlikely, however, to be taken up by the Republican-led Senate. In total, about 22 million Americans will be forced to choose between paying higher premiums, downgrading their coverage, or dropping insurance entirely.

This comes on top of last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB), which will cut up to $1 trillion from Medicaid over the next ten years. An estimated 15 million Americans are expected to lose health insurance by 2035 because of it. The bulk of the cuts will go toward funding tax breaks for wealthy people and big corporations.

Nunn supported OBBB and later ran TV ads celebrating the law.

Unrig Our Economy, a group fighting to advance the interests of working people, said Nunn’s remarks on Obamacare expose his true priorities.

“Nunn and his Republican colleagues voted for the largest cuts to health care in history in order to give more tax breaks to billionaires,” said Leor Tal, the group’s director. “Now, they’re doubling down on attacking Americans’ care by trying to dismantle the ACA. Americans don’t need higher costs and more barriers to coverage, they need Republicans in Congress to stop voting to take away their health care.”

Polling suggests voters agree. A tracking poll by KFF shows Obamacare with a 58% approval rating as of January 2026.

Nunn is running for a third term this year. Democrats have identified him as one of the most vulnerable congressional Republicans facing reelection.