Senate reaches deal to reopen government after moderate Democrats give in

WASHINGTON – The longest federal government shutdown in history will end soon after a group of moderate Democrats bowed to their party’s health care demands and voted with Republicans on Sunday to push a funding bill through the Senate.

The Senate is expected to approve the deal on Monday. The GOP-controlled House will then return to DC and pass it later this week, reopening the government.

For weeks, Democrats have insisted that any vote to reopen the government also be tied to a vote to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire at the end of the year, something they repeatedly called a “health care crisis.” Millions of people rely on these subsidies to pay for health care, and since open enrollment in the ACA began on November 1, many have already seen their health care costs skyrocket.

The deal that moderate Democrats struck with Republicans does not extend those health care subsidies, but it sets up a future vote to extend them — a vote that will almost certainly fail since Republicans have no interest in doing so.

Proponents of the deal argue that it is still a victory for them, as Republicans were previously unwilling to hold any vote on restoring ACA subsidies.

“This deal guarantees a vote to extend the Affordable Care Act’s premium tax credits, something Republicans were unwilling to do,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.), a liberal Democrat who supported the deal primarily because it includes protections for federal workers, many of whom live in his state. “Legislators know that their constituents expect them to vote yes, and if they don’t, they could very well be replaced at the polls by someone who does.”

But Republicans offered Democrats a vote on ACA subsidies weeks earlier, in mid-October, and Democrats simply refused to give in to their demands.

The reality is that moderate Democrats in particular were looking for a way out of the shutdown, as the expiration of federal food assistance for tens of millions of people and the growing travel nightmare at airports across the country increasingly weighed on them.

Some also had the feeling that Democrats couldn’t win the fight in the long run. Over the weekend, President Donald Trump went deeper, urging Republicans to completely repeal the ACA subsidies. He has also pressured Republican senators to go so far as to eliminate the filibuster to get what he wants.

“The question was, as the shutdown goes on, is a fix to the ACA more likely? It appears not,” Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) told News themezone after a two-hour closed-door meeting with Democrats on Sunday.

“I think people are saying we’re not going to get what we want, even though we still have a chance, because part of the deal is a vote on ACA subsidies,” King said. “But in the meantime, a lot of people are getting hurt.”

King, an independent who is part of the Democrats, led negotiations with Republicans on the agreement along with moderate Democratic senators Jeanne Shaheen (NH) and Maggie Hassan (NH). Four other Democrats supported his deal in addition to Kaine: Sens. Jacky Rosen (Nev.), Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.), Dick Durbin (Ill.) and John Fetterman (Pennsylvania).

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Their deal includes a reversal of all federal worker layoffs that have taken place since the shutdown began, as well as protections against more layoffs occurring again, through Jan. 30, 2026. And it funds federal food assistance at a higher level than before.

But lawmakers and progressive groups are furious about this deal, with some calling it a “betrayal.” to the millions of Americans who are about to lose their health care coverage.

“It’s a terrible mistake,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) told reporters on Sunday. “People want us to stand up and fight for health care, and that’s what I believe.”

Sen. Rubén Gallego (D-Ariz.), a potential 2028 presidential candidate, insisted he “will not turn his back on the 24 million Americans” whose health care premiums will now double, or more, as a result of the expiration of the ACA tax credits.

“There is a phrase in Spanish, ‘With health, there is everything; without health, there is nothing.’ It means: ‘With good health you have everything; without your health you have nothing,'” Gallego said in a statement. “It is with that phrase in mind that I stand firm in my decision to vote no so that families across the country can get the health care they need.”

Top House Democrats also criticized the Senate deal, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (New York) and Congressional Progressive Caucus Chairman Greg Casar (Texas). But there are enough Democrats in the House of Representatives who will finally support it when the chamber takes it up later this week.

Some Democrats called for the removal of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer as leader of their caucus, blaming the New York Democrat for failing to hold it together even though he ultimately opposed the deal. His critics include Rep. Ro Khanna (California) and Zach Wahls, a Democrat running for Senate in Iowa.

Schumer declined to answer questions about calls for his ouster Sunday night. Instead, he criticized the agreement in statements on the Senate floor.

“This health care crisis is so serious, so urgent, and so devastating to families at home, that I cannot support it in good faith. [continuing resolution] that fails to address the health care crisis,” he said.

“But let me be clear: Whatever the outcome of this vote, this fight will continue and must continue. Democrats must fight because millions of families will lose health care coverage,” Schumer added. “We must fight because children who die of cancer will not have health coverage.”