Eight Democratic Party defectors who joined the Republican Party in hopes of returning to power have faced widespread criticism from within the party.
Senate signs deal to end historic government shutdown
Lawmakers agree to end longest government shutdown in history and reopen government through January 30th
WASHINGTON – Eight Democratic defectors who joined the Republican Party in its bid to reopen the government are facing widespread criticism from within the party for supporting a deal that does not guarantee an extension of expired health care benefits.
New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill, one of the biggest Democratic winners in last week’s off-year elections, accused Senate Democrats of “cheating Americans out of a bill they can’t afford.”
“Make no mistake about it: If this bill passes, New Jerseyans will end up paying even more for health care on top of the already higher and higher costs for everything,” Sherrill, currently a four-term member of the New Jersey House of Representatives, said in a statement. “Conducting this transaction is illegal.”
For weeks, Senate Democrats have refused to reopen the government unless the bill also includes an extension of the Affordable Care Act, which expires at the end of the year and would result in higher premiums for millions of Americans.
But the agreement with Republicans only ensures a vote on the subsidy extension during the second week of December. In addition to reopening the government through Jan. 30, the continuing resolution would also reverse President Donald Trump’s recent cuts to government workers during the shutdown.
“Pathetic,” California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote in a one-word post about X.
Who are the eight Democrats who voted with the Republicans?
The eight Democrats who voted to advance the bill include four senators who had already voted multiple times with Republicans to reopen the government (Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, independents Angus King of Maine and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire), as well as four others who opposed it (Dick Durbin of Illinois and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire). Jackie Rosen of Hampshire, Nevada and Tim Kaine of Virginia.
The decision to compromise on health care demands comes after Democrats had a hugely successful off-year election last week, giving the party hope for the 2026 midterm elections.
Several Democratic candidates for the 2026 Senate race have expressed disapproval of the compromise. “What we need now is fighters, not folders,” said Democratic Texas Rep. James Talarico, who is running for Senate.
Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Mich.), who is running for the Michigan Senate, also opposed the deal.
“We all want this shutdown to end, but if this is the deal the Senate is sending us, it’s not going to work in Michigan,” Stevens said in a post on X. “Republicans have already voted to raise health care costs for hundreds of thousands of Michiganders and threaten Medicaid for so many in our state. We’re going to need more than just empty promises to cut costs.”
“This doesn’t make any sense.”
Neera Tanden, president and CEO of the left-leaning Center for American Progress and a former White House aide to President Joe Biden, predicted that Republicans won’t ultimately negotiate with Democrats on expired health care subsidies.
“This makes no sense. They are not going to negotiate with you. There was no reason they couldn’t negotiate earlier. They just spent the weekend attacking the ACA,” Tanden wrote to X.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) attacked the leadership of Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for expressing dissatisfaction with the agreement, even though Schumer voted against the continuing resolution.
“Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be removed,” Khanna said in a post on X. “If he can’t lead the fight to stop the rising costs of health care for Americans, then what will he fight for?”
“We want nothing more than to reopen the government, get people back to work, and end the needless suffering this Republican shutdown is causing,” Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) said in a statement.
But Warner broke with fellow Virginia Sen. Kaine in voting against the deal, saying, “I cannot support an agreement that still leaves millions of Americans with questions about how they will pay for their health care and whether they can afford to get sick.”
X Contact Joey Garrison at @joeygarrison.
