The Democratic Party just tripped over its own feet in a Senate vote that’s got everyone from governors to grassroots activists shaking their heads in disbelief.
On Sunday, eight senators who caucus with Democrats decided to cross party lines and support a short-term funding bill to reopen the government, a move that has sparked a firestorm of backlash within their own ranks and even some call for a change at the top, as ABC News reports.
These senators -- Angus King, Tim Kaine, Dick Durbin, John Fetterman, Maggie Hassan, Jeanne Shaheen, Catherine Cortez Masto, and Jacky Rosen -- voted for a continuing resolution that keeps the government running through late January next year. The vote, a tight 60-40, barely cleared the threshold needed to pass in the Senate. But here’s the kicker: it still needs approval from the Republican-led House and a signature from President Donald Trump to become law.
What pushed these eight to break ranks? The government shutdown was wreaking havoc, and they argued that Republicans wouldn’t budge on key issues like health care while federal operations remained stalled.
Yet, the deal they supported left out a critical Democratic priority: extending Affordable Care Act subsidies set to lapse at year’s end. Instead, there’s just a vague promise of a future vote on health care protections, an offer Senate Majority Leader John Thune floated weeks ago.
Speaking of health care, the Democratic base is livid that their senators caved without securing real guarantees. The senators defended their votes, claiming they had to prioritize ending the shutdown’s damage over holding out for a better deal.
The criticism came in swift and sharp, with heavyweights like Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer facing calls to step down for failing to keep the caucus united. Progressive voices in the House, like Reps. Rho Khanna and Mike Levin didn’t mince words, demanding new leadership to tackle soaring health care costs. Schumer, for his part, voted no on the bill, but that’s cold comfort to a party itching for a fight.
Even Democrat governors piled on, with Minnesota’s Tim Walz, Illinois’ JB Pritzker, and California’s Gavin Newsom slamming the deal as a capitulation. Pritzker called it an “empty promise,” and frankly, it’s hard to argue when the health care lifeline for millions hangs by a thread. This isn’t just a policy disagreement -- it’s a full-blown identity crisis for a party that prides itself on protecting the vulnerable.
The internal drama gets personal, too, with even Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s daughter, Stefany, who’s running for Congress in New Hampshire, publicly opposing her mother’s vote. If you can’t win over your own family on a decision this big, good luck convincing the electorate.
House Democrat leader Hakeem Jeffries weighed in the next day, insisting the party will keep pushing for health care reforms while warning the dissenting senators they’ll need to justify their votes. “With respect to senators … they are going to have to explain themselves,” Jeffries said. And explain they must, because this vote risks alienating the very base they’ll need in future battles.
Sen. Bernie Sanders didn’t hold back either, lamenting the outcome with a somber note: “Tonight was a very bad night.” He’s right to worry -- handing over a win to the opposition without securing core protections looks like a strategic fumble, especially when millions could face higher premiums or lose coverage altogether.
Some of the senators who voted yes, like Maggie Hassan, tried to frame their decision as a pragmatic step forward. “After weeks of bipartisan conversations, I voted today to reopen the government so that we can get back to the work of helping families,” Hassan stated. Nice sentiment, but when the progressive agenda gets sidelined, it’s hard to see this as anything but a retreat from the fight.
This deal might have reopened the government, but it’s opened a Pandora’s box of division within the Democratic Party. While the funding bill ensures federal workers get paid and keeps programs like SNAP afloat, the failure to lock in health care subsidies could haunt them for months.
The promise of a future vote on subsidies feels like a political mirage, shimmering just out of reach while real families face uncertainty. If Republicans drag their feet, as they’re prone to do on issues that don’t align with fiscal conservatism, Democrats will have handed Trump a PR victory without much to show for it.
At the end of the day, this vote reveals a party at odds with itself, torn between practical governance and ideological purity. The eight senators may have acted out of necessity, but necessity doesn’t win hearts or elections. As the health care battle shifts to the next round, Democrats better hope they’ve got a stronger playbook -- or they’ll be explaining more than just this vote come next campaign season.
