More than 40 days later, the end of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history is in sight after eight Democratic senators voted with Republicans Monday night to reopen the federal government until Jan. 30. The final step will come as early as Wednesday in the House of Representatives, where Speaker Mike Johnson will have to rally his narrow GOP majority to pass the funding bill.
But while the shutdown disruptions, which included canceled flights and unpaid food benefits, may be coming to an end, Democrats' internal party feud may be just beginning.
The Senate resolution came after weeks of relative Democratic unity, with party leaders insisting they would not vote on government funding until Republicans extended Affordable Care Act subsidies. This also came on the heels of major Democratic and Democratic electoral victories. survey this suggests that a majority of American voters agreed that the subsidies should be extended. Many Democrats were both surprised and angry that eight senators defected without winning any real concessions from Republicans that they couldn't get six weeks ago.
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Disruptions in food aid and air travel were among the issues that prompted eight Democratic senators to join Republicans in voting to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. An expected vote in the House of Representatives will officially reopen the government.
The measure funds agencies such as the Department of Agriculture and the Department of Veterans Affairs for the fiscal year, as well as the rest of the government through Jan. 30. It requires federal workers laid off during the shutdown to be rehired with back pay. On health care, Democrats secured Senate Majority Leader John Thune's promise to hold a vote on ACA subsidies next month—essentially the same deal he proposed. 16 days after closing. There is no guarantee that the vote will even take place in the House of Representatives.
“This is how it was always supposed to end,” Republican Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas told the Monitor on Monday night.
Some Democratic senators appear to have concluded that they have already made the most of the situation politically by showing voters that the party, which has been out of power since January, is capable of fighting back against President Donald Trump and the Republican Party. Given their lack of leverage, many Democrats believed they were unlikely to achieve significant policy victories. And the tension between political points and concerns about tangible harm from the closure only grew as those harms became more obvious.
“We showed two things. First, Democratic unity on health care. Second, Democratic unity in the fight against Trump's lawlessness,” says Democratic Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont. While the closure has caused “real pain,” Senator Welch says he would rather continue to hold on.
“We were all in uncharted territory, but we have the unknown… the lawless behavior of the president. So, in my opinion, it was worth holding the line,” he says. At the same time, he acknowledges that the ACA's subsidy guarantees were likely unattainable when Mr. Trump told congressional Republicans not to negotiate.
“Any good general, if a strategy isn't working, you change tactics. And you especially change tactics if your own troops are in danger,” said Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats and voted to end the lockdown. on MSNBC Monday. “The American people suffered collateral damage. At the same time, the goal was not achieved.”
The government shutdown effectively gave Mr. Trump “more power,” Mr. King said, as the president sought to choose which federal workers would get paid and block Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) payments, freezing the program that 42 million Americans rely on to help them buy food.
Despite headlines about Democratic senators “giving up,” Republican lawmakers have nothing to gloat about either. Their party has taken more blame for the shutdown, according to opinion polls, and they face tough decisions on health care and other spending ahead of next year's midterm elections. The expiration of the current funding bill on Jan. 30 means lawmakers could be back where they were in less than three months.
The measure passed the Senate by a 60-40 vote, with five Democratic senators joining Republicans, as well as Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, as well as Sen. King, in voting to fund the government within weeks. The five new yes votes came from Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, who announced his resignation, as well as Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia. Neither will be re-elected next year.
These eight senators immediately faced criticism from their colleagues. The Lincoln Project, a Republican anti-Trump group, called them the “hateful eight,” and progressive groups Move on and Our Revolution called on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to resign as Democratic leader. Senator Kaine suggested that some Democrats were quietly grateful for the eight who voted to end the lockdown and that more people would like to do this.
But when a reporter asked Monday whether Schumer gave his blessing to the defection, Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii responded, “I can confirm that, it's not true.”
Mr. Schumer could face the brunt of criticism from Democrats in the coming days and weeks, just as he did in March when he directed his caucus to avoid a government shutdown altogether and vote on the funding measure. House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries said at a news conference on Monday that he supported the Senate leader, a departure from March when Mr Jeffries said “next question” in response to a similar question.
Some senators at the Capitol on Monday expressed support for Mr. Schumer. “So far I think he's done a good job,” said Sen. Cortez Masto, who voted to reopen the government on Monday. Others seem wary. Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin said she was “disappointed” and said Democrats were failing to “see the moment.”
But this has always been an “asymmetrical war,” says Jim Kessler, Schumer's former policy director and co-founder of the center-left think tank Third Way. And in such a situation, the minority party that causes the shutdown has only one tool at its disposal, he says, and that is communication – shaping public opinion.
“I think the Democrats accomplished something really significant that they'll realize when the dust settles,” Mr. Kessler says. And that's the discipline of the message: they continued to focus on health care and also bring it to the public's attention. “As premiums rise, [voters will] remember who did it. It was Donald Trump. And if you look at it in the long term, this is a significant achievement.”
Still, Mr. Kessler would like to see Senate Democrats hold on a little longer – although he believes it is unlikely they would get anything done on policy.
“I think there’s gas left in the tank for a fight,” he says, “and the fight matters.”
