Senate moving toward votes to end federal government shutdown

The U.S. Senate successfully moved Sunday night toward ending the federal government shutdown, in a breakthrough deal between Republicans and some moderate Democrats.

The chamber cleared a key procedural hurdle, with at least eight Democrats joining Republicans to advance the plan to reopen the government toward a final vote likely to be held later this week.

Despite some fellow Democrats joining Republicans in the deal, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) cast the shutdown standoff that enters its 41st day on Monday as having made “the contrasts between the two parties clear."

He said Democrats emerge as the party fighting more for improving health care and lowering health care costs.

“I am optimistic that after almost six weeks of this shutdown, we will finally be able to end it,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said. 

A group of Senate centrist Democrats that were key to reaching a deal with majority Republicans decided Sunday night they were, in fact, officially on board with a new agreement to end the shutdown.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), the former vice-presidential candidate, issued a statement shortly after 7 p.m. that he has agreed to a deal “that will protect federal workers from baseless firings, reinstate those who have been wrongly terminated and ensure federal workers will receive back pay.

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He also said the deal guarantees a vote on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year — a central issue in the shutdown stalemate. That separate vote would occur under the deal by the end of the second week of December.

But that one big detail was prompting immediate backlash and anger by other Democrats.

In one of many angry Democratic reactions outside of the Senate, the top House Democrat, Hakeem Jeffries (D-Brooklyn), issued a statement shortly before 7 p.m. acknowledging the Senate deal does not include that central key House Democratic demand on health care.

“It now appears that Senate Republicans will send the House of Representatives a spending bill that fails to extend the Affordable tax credits,” Jeffries said in a statement. But he said the House Democrats will fight for that, and not support the bill to reopen government unless it does include that language.

There are other indications that an agreement has been struck — including bills that will be attached to a new version of the bill to reopen government, this time until Jan. 31.

Those bills do include language that Democrats have been seeking to beat back some of the spending and program cuts that President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans sought.

The House, which has not voted since Sept. 19, would ultimately also have to approve the measure, a process that could take several additional days and present new hurdles over the proposed GOP spending cuts. House members were not even in Washington this weekend, and they have been promised a two-day notice if they are called to return.

The challenge for the 53 Senate Republicans led by Thune is to, in fact, secure enough Democratic backing so the measure will have enough votes from other senators to meet the 60-vote requirement to break the chamber’s filibuster rule. Until now, not enough Democrats have agreed to go along.

Democratic centrists have been pushing for inclusion of finalized versions of at least some of the 12 full-year funding bills for agencies — along with a vote that Democrats have been seeking to renew expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.

On Sunday, three of those spending bills were announced as ready to go by Republicans, and some Democrats responded positively.

The three spending bills that will be attached to the measure to reopen government until Jan. 31 would include one funding the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration. That bill, among other things, would prevent any further delay in the distribution of food assistance for 42 million Americans under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps.

The other two funding bills unveiled relate to military construction projects and veterans affairs and legislative affairs.

The aim of Republicans is to combine those bills with a revision of a short-term bill to temporarily fund the rest of the government — rewritten to extend in duration until Jan. 31 — keeping funding at current levels until then. That would give more time for congressional negotiators to finalize the nine remaining full-year spending bills.

But the early public and private blowback within the ranks of the Democrat Party was still casting some doubt on whether it could even advance in the Senate, a process that could face procedural delays by progressive Democrats who are opposed to it.

That, and whether Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) would even agree to hold such a vote in the House on extending the Obamacare subsidies — even if a Senate vote led to its passage there — remained as sticking points.

“Millions of Americans will see healthcare costs skyrocket because Republicans care more about billionaires than working families. @SenateDems,” House Rules Committee top Democrat Jim McGovern (D-Mass.), implored in a posting on X early Sunday evening. “It's not too late to STAND STRONG. Everyday people are counting on us to champion their concerns. Keep fighting! Don’t be a cheap date!”

“Any deal that ends with Dems just getting a pinky promise in return is a mistake.” Kenyatta Malcom, a Democratic National Committee vice chair and Pennsylvania state representative, posted on X, a sentiment echoed by several House Democrats and others.