The lengthiest government shutdown in U.S. history appears to be ending after a group of moderate Senate Democrats joined Republicans in voting on a spending deal to reopen the government. Many of these Democrats’ colleagues, however, are condemning the agreement as a failure and a surrender in their fight to keep healthcare costs from skyrocketing.

Deal funds the government for now, promises a future vote on healthcare subsidies

News emerged Sunday that a group of Democratic senators had worked out a closed-door deal with Republicans to end the government shutdown that began on Oct. 1. The deal would fund the government until Jan. 30 and specific programs until Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year, including the Departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs. The bill also restores funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which the Trump administration has resisted paying during the shutdown, as well as funds for the Women, Infants, and Children Program. The Senate bill additionally puts a freeze to mass layoffs initiated by Trump during the shutdown, rehires workers who were laid off during this period, and guarantees that federal workers would receive back pay for the shutdown period; federal law already requires back pay for furloughed federal workers and essential personnel working without pay during a shutdown, but the Trump administration had threatened not to fulfill these obligations for all covered workers.

Controversially, the Senate bill does not restore federal subsidies for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act. Democrats’ original demand was that these subsidies be extended after Republicans chose to allow them to expire, which has already started to lead to soaring healthcare costs across the country. Instead, the deal was made based on a promise that Senate Republicans would allow a future vote on the healthcare subsidies. There is no guarantee that any Senate Republicans would support the subsidy measure, which would need at least some Republican support, given that Democrats are in the minority. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson of Louisiana has previously refused to commit to holding a vote in the House at all.

Defecting Democrats attempt to defend their decisions as the party fumes over ‘very very bad vote’

The deal was supported by 52 Senate Republicans, with Kentucky’s Rand Paul as the sole GOP holdout, meaning eight Democrats needed to support the measure to overcome a potential filibuster. That exact number voted to approve the bill. Three of the defecting Democrats negotiated the deal with Republicans: New Hampshire Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, as well as independent Maine Sen. Angus King, who caucuses with Democrats. They were joined in the final 60-40 vote by Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Tim Kaine of Virginia. The defecting Democrats have attempted to defend their decision by referencing the hardships caused by the shutdown, including the Trump administration’s withholding of SNAP benefits.

King said the shutdown was not making an extension of ACA tax credits more likely, and “standing up to Donald Trump didn’t work.”

Sen. Angus King: "Standing up to Donald Trump didn't work" pic.twitter.com/Y751B5SajR— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 10, 2025

Kaine upheld his vote, stating, “This deal guarantees a vote to extend Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, which Republicans weren’t willing to do. Lawmakers know their constituents expect them to vote for it, and if they don’t, they could very well be replaced at the ballot box by someone who will.”

My statement on the funding deal to reopen government, protect federal employees, and vote to protect health care pic.twitter.com/1ITfj3mLoq— Senator Tim Kaine (@SenTimKaine) November 10, 2025

Many Democratic lawmakers and supporters, however, have dismissed this rationale as wishful thinking.

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders called the passage of the deal “a very, very bad vote” that will allow healthcare costs to soar and Americans to lose health insurance. He cited Democratic victories in last week’s elections as a sign that Americans wanted Democrats “to stand up to Trumpism.”

Tonight was a very bad night. pic.twitter.com/t2rM48XEyV— Sen. Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) November 10, 2025

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, who was not part of the negotiations and has been blamed for not keeping his caucus in line, condemned the deal.

“For months and months, Democrats have been fighting to get the Senate to address the healthcare crisis,” Schumer said in a video message ahead of Sunday’s vote. “This bill does nothing to ensure that that crisis is addressed. I am voting NO, and I will keep fighting.”

America is in the midst of a Republican-made health care crisis—a crisis so severe, so urgent, and so devastating for American families that I cannot support a continuing resolution that fails to address it.I am voting NO. pic.twitter.com/qfiMma6y5D— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) November 10, 2025

With a deal that guarantees little of what Democrats were initially fighting for, many within the party are outraged that the 40-day shutdown has resulted in what they see as a failure by their party. House Republicans are expected to approve the deal and send it to the president to sign this week, though it may take days for the shutdown to end officially. Meanwhile, the fight over healthcare costs continues, with a few Senate Democrats calling Sunday’s deal an advancement of that agenda. Still, many see it as an unnecessary surrender.
The post Government Shutdown Update: Democratic Fury As Moderates Reach Deal With GOP Without Healthcare Subsidy Extension appeared first on Blavity.



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Tags Blavity Deal Democratic Extension Fury GOP Government healthcare Moderates Reach Shutdown Subsidy UPDATE