WASHINGTON — As Republicans spent most of the year on legislation to drastically cut taxes for the wealthy and slash Medicaid, then took a weekslong break from Washington while the government was shut down, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) continually insisted they would be able to fix a looming spike in health care costs in December.

“We have until the end of December to figure all that out,” Johnson told reporters in September.

“That’s a December policy issue,” Johnson said in October.

“That was always a December issue,” Johnson said in November.

Well, it’s December. And Republicans don’t have a solution and can’t agree among themselves about what to do.