Democrats are melting down after seven members of their party – plus, independent Maine Sen. Angus King, who caucuses with them – sided with the GOP to advance a deal that will begin the process of reopening the government without extending the Obamacare tax credits set to expire at the end of the year.
The Deal
As reported on Tuesday’s AM Update, the Democrats had been holding out since the government shutdown began on October 1, demanding Republicans include the Obamacare tax credit extension in any plan to reopen the government. The GOP stood firm in their refusal to relitigate Obamacare as a condition of extending the current government spending levels.
Late Sunday, the eight defectors caved, agreeing to advance the continuing resolution passed by the House of Representatives that would keep spending where it has been, as the first step to re-opening the government. Senate Republicans, meanwhile, agreed to hold a vote on the Obamacare subsidies next month.
Late Monday evening, the Senate voted to pass a series of spending bills fully funding certain key departments through the end of the fiscal year, September 30, and funding the rest of the government until January 30. The legislation was sent back to the House for approval, which could happen later this week.
The Fallout
During an appearance on Morning Joe on Monday, Sen. King explained his decision to abort mission. “Joe, you have to go back to what the strategy was at the beginning of the shutdown. There were two goals, both of which I support,” he noted. “One was standing up to Donald Trump. The other was getting some resolution on the ACA premium tax credit issue.”
He acknowledged both of those goals failed. “The problem was the shutdown wasn’t accomplishing either goals, and there was practically, well, it was zero likelihood that it was going to,” King said. “In terms of standing up to Donald Trump, the shutdown actually gave him more power, exhibit A being what he’s done with SNAP and SNAP benefits across the country.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) also flipped her vote, saying, “keeping the government shutdown for another week or another month does not indicate that there would be any change in the outcome.”
But that reasoning did not cut it for a whole host of Democrats and leftists. Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker slammed the deal, as did Gov. Gavin Newsom of California. He said it “isn’t a deal” but “a surrender” on X.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) called it “a very, very bad vote,” especially in the wake of the Dems Election Day success. “What the election showed is that the American people want us to stand up to Trumpism, to his war against working class people, to his authoritarianism,” he said in a social media video. “That is what the American people wanted. But tonight, that is not what happened.”
Schumer Under Fire
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) was not one of the eight who joined Republicans, but he is being blamed as a feckless leader and facing significant backlash from members of his own party and the media.
Senate candidate Graham Platner of Maine called for Schumer to step down from his leadership role, and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) had a similar message. He criticized the deal, accused Schumer of being ineffective, and called for his ouster as Senate minority leader. “It’s time for him to be replaced. He is not meeting the moment. He is out of touch with where the party’s base is,” Khanna said Monday on The Takeout podcast.
When House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) was asked about the discontent among House Dems, he was more measured in his response.
REPORTER: Some Democrats in your own caucus are suggesting Schumer is ineffective as Senate Democratic leader and should be replaced. You, of course, are critical of this deal. Do you view him as effective and should he keep his job?
JEFFRIES: Yes, and yes.
This is the second time this year the minority leader has taken extraordinary flak from his own party in relation to government funding. In March, Schumer voted to advance an earlier continuing resolution that ultimately brought us to the current battle. While he was not one of the crossover votes this time around, he did not stop the cave either.
“For months and months, Democrats have been fighting to get the Senate to address the health care crisis,” he said prior to the vote. “This bill does nothing to ensure that that crisis is addressed. I am voting no, and I will keep fighting.”
Schumer is up for re-election in 2028.
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