Four House Republicans crossed party lines to force a vote on extending health care tax credits that millions of Americans rely on to lower their insurance premiums.

After the speaker denied them a vote on extending the subsidies, four Republicans from competitive districts joined Democrats’ bid to go around G.O.P. leaders and force action.

WASHINGTON — Four centrist Republicans broke with Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday and signed onto a Democratic-led petition that will force a House vote on extending for three years an enhanced pandemic-era subsidy that lowers health insurance costs for millions of Americans.

The tension in the Capitol had been building for weeks — a quiet, humming anxiety that threaded through late-night committee rooms and whispered conversations i

A group of moderate Republicans have warned for months that their party’s plan to eliminate clean energy tax credits would contribute to utility bills skyrocketing.