This GOP senator says reviving Obamacare subsidies would be 'putting America first'

If the Senate is going to strike a deal to revive a signature Democratic policy, it will be in part because of an unlikely broker: a freshman Republican from the party's MAGA wing.

Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio is, on paper, an odd fit in the core group of about a dozen senators in talks to extend Obamacare credits that lapsed on Jan. 1. Most are well-known bipartisan dealmakers, such as Republican Susan Collins and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen.

Moreno, on the other hand, joined the Senate a year ago as a Trump-anointed presidential loyalist who had just defeated longtime Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown with hard-line attacks focused mainly on immigration. But he has a key asset — a close relationship with Trump, who will need to bless or at least tacitly accept any agreement to smooth its passage through Congress.