On Sunday night, eight members of the Senate Democratic Caucus took a significant step towards ending the 40-day government shutdown by voting to advance a continuing resolution that had been passed by the House.
The Senate approved the House bill with a 60-40 vote. This legislation will support funding for military construction, veterans affairs, the Department of Agriculture, and other government agencies, with allocations extending through September 30 for some areas and until January 30 for others.
With this approval, the House is expected to reconvene later this week to vote on the measure for President Trump’s signature.
The Democrats who helped break the Senate deadlock included:
Senator John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania)
Fetterman has been vocal in critiquing the Senate Democratic leadership’s strategy to block the House-passed funding resolution, hoping this would pressure Republicans into agreeing to health insurance premium extensions. He’s argued for a while that Democrats had limited influence over government funding issues, even while supporting the push for insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). He has particularly highlighted concerns about the nearly 42 million Americans at risk of hunger due to the expiration of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
Senator Angus King (Maine)
King, who is an independent voting with Democrats, expressed worry at the outset of the shutdown that not funding the government could grant excessive power to Trump. He stated, “While the health care crisis is serious, the greater risk is the government shutdown itself and the additional powers it would give Donald Trump.” He added that the country is facing a significant challenge as it veers towards authoritarianism.
Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada)
Cortez Masto supported the House’s government funding bill back in late September and has consistently voted in favor of reopening the government since the shutdown began over five weeks ago. In her Sept. 30 vote against the shutdown, she emphasized the harmful effects on Nevada families and the potential for thousands of state workers to go unpaid.
She warned again that a shutdown could lead to a billion-dollar loss in revenue weekly for the travel and tourism sector.
Senator Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada)
Rosen has maintained a strong stance during the shutdown, pushing Republicans to confront the so-called “crisis” of rising health care costs. She acknowledged Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s commitment to hold a vote in December on a bill extending ACA subsidies as a critical concession.
She asserted, “The concession we were able to extract to move us closer to extending the ACA tax credits is a vote on the bill that Senate Democrats wrote and negotiated.”
Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois)
Durbin, a key Senate Democratic leader, voiced concerns about the shutdown’s impact on federal workers when called upon by the American Federation of Government Employees to push a clean resolution. He highlighted the stress federal employees faced, particularly air traffic controllers, during the longest shutdown in U.S. history.
He mentioned, “Federal employees went without pay for 40 days… putting added stress on their life-saving jobs.”
Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-New Hampshire)
Shaheen, an instrumental figure in negotiating the government reopening, collaborated closely with King to gather a group of Democrats for discussions during the shutdown. She boasted that an agreement with Thune guaranteed a vote next month to expand health insurance premium subsidies.
Senator Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire)
Hassan has also worked with Shaheen recently to navigate the reopening of the government and advocates for significant bipartisan discussions to extend soon-to-expire health care tax cuts. She expressed concern about the struggles families are facing due to governmental dysfunction, noting she has heard about the difficulties the shutdown has posed for those in New Hampshire.
She emphasized that the Senate agreement secures SNAP benefits until September 30 and ensures paychecks for law enforcement personnel and other federal employees.
Senator Tim Kaine (D-Virginia)
Kaine, representing over 140,000 federal workers in Virginia, is focused on ensuring a Senate agreement that guarantees back pay for furloughed workers during the shutdown while also protecting thousands of jobs that the Trump administration aimed to eliminate through reduction strategies.
He condemned the administration’s “mischief” during the shutdown and aimed for language in the agreement that would prevent further layoffs during the continuation of the stopgap funding measure.
He stated, “This legislation protects federal employees from frivolous terminations… This is an important step that will help federal employees and all Americans who rely on government services.”
