Senate Votes to Advance Funding Bill, Ending Stalemate with Few Concessions
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Washington DC, after an agonizing 40-day government shutdown—the longest in U.S. history—a group of eight Senate Democrats broke ranks on Sunday night, joining Republicans to advance a funding bill. This critical procedural vote, which passed 60-40, signals the imminent end of the shutdown but marks a clear victory for Republicans, who held firm on their demand to reopen the government before negotiating on healthcare.
The “breakthrough” deal offers Democrats surprisingly few new concessions, effectively mirroring a proposal Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) floated weeks ago: reopen the government now, and get a future vote later.
The Core of the “Concession”
For weeks, Democrats had resisted reopening the government, demanding an extension of the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits (Obamacare subsidies), which are set to expire at the end of the year. Allowing them to lapse is projected to cause premiums to skyrocket for millions of Americans.
The emerging deal falls far short of that demand:
- No Extension: The funding bill does not include an extension of the expiring ACA subsidies.
- A “Future Vote”: In exchange for their votes, Senate leadership promised Democrats a future, non-guaranteed vote on legislation to address the subsidies by the second week of December.
Crucially, there is no guarantee that this subsequent bill will pass the Senate, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has given no commitment to even hold a vote on the subsidies in the House.
What Democrats Gained (and Who Voted Yes)
While the deal didn’t secure the healthcare concession, it did provide immediate relief for federal workers:
- Federal Worker Protection: The deal includes provisions to reverse layoffs ordered during the shutdown and prevents new layoffs until the stopgap funding expires on January 30.
- Back Pay Guarantee: It ensures all federal employees will receive back pay once the government officially reopens—a measure that was already required under a 2019 law, but cemented in the deal.
Eight senators who caucus with the Democrats—including Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.)—broke ranks to vote ‘yes’ on the procedural motion.
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), a leader in the bipartisan negotiations, defended the difficult decision: “Waiting another week, or another month, wouldn’t deliver a better outcome. It would only mean more harm for families… and all across the country.”
The Hard Truth: “It Wasn’t Working”
Independent Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), another ‘yes’ vote, was blunt about the Democrats’ strategy: “It wasn’t working… Republicans made it clear they weren’t going to discuss the health care issue… until the shutdown was over.”
While the vote paves the way to end the pain of the longest shutdown in U.S. history, it leaves the central issue of affordable healthcare—the Democrats’ core demand—unresolved and subject to the uncertain legislative calendar ahead.
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Congress still needs to vote…
But CNN and MSNBC told us it was the Republicans that shut the government down.
Its simple math
Need 60 yes votes to open the government
52 of 53 republicans voted yes
3 of 47 democrats voted no
I think you forgot proofread this before publishing it.
But I think everyone understands your point.
no word from Spartacus and Kim?
They in addition to Sherrill are a no on opening the government