WASHINGTON (AP) — Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday that House Democrats should return to Washington “immediately” after a petite group of Senate Democrats broke a 40-day stalemate tardy Sunday night and voted with Republicans to advance legislation that would end the government shutdown.
It is unclear when the Senate will finally vote on the bill. But Johnson said the “nightmare is finally coming to an end” after the Senate voted 60-40 to consider a compromise bill to fund the government.
“We need to do this as quickly as possible,” Johnson said at a news conference Monday morning. He has kept the House out of session since mid-September, when the House passed a bill to continue government funding.
After weeks of negotiations, moderate Senate Democrats agreed to reopen the government without a guaranteed extension of health care subsidies, angering many in their caucus who have been demanding for more than six weeks that Republicans negotiate with them over the Affordable Care Act’s tax credits, which expire Jan. 1. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., promised a vote on the grants in mid-December, but there was no guarantee of success.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York voted against implementing the package, as did all but eight of his Democratic colleagues.
“We will not give up the fight,” Schumer said, adding that Democrats have now “sounded the alarm” on health care.
An end to the shutdown could be days away if senators raise objections and drag out the process. Thune said Sunday evening that he was still working through concerns about individual provisions in the underlying spending bills as part of his Republican conference.
One of those Republicans, Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, had threatened to object to a provision introduced by his home state colleague, Senator Mitch McConnell, that would prevent the sale of some hemp-based products.
“We will discuss this again tomorrow when we have more clarity on where things stand,” Thune told reporters after the vote on Sunday evening.
President Donald Trump hasn’t said whether he will sign it, but told reporters at the White House on Sunday evening that it “looks like we’re close to the end of the shutdown.”
Five Democrats swap votes
A group of three former governors — New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan and independent Sen. Angus King of Maine — broke the six-week stalemate on Sunday when they agreed to advance three bipartisan annual spending bills and extend the rest of state funding through the end of January in exchange for the mid-December vote to extend health care tax credits.
The agreement also includes a reversal of the Trump administration’s mass layoffs of federal workers since the shutdown began Oct. 1 and would ensure federal workers receive back pay.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune quickly approved the deal and called an immediate vote to begin the approval process as the shutdown continued to disrupt air travel nationwide, threaten food aid for millions of Americans and leave federal workers without pay.
“The time to act is now,” Thune said.
In addition to Shaheen, King and Hassan, Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, home to tens of thousands of federal workers, also voted to advance the agreement. Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, and Nevada Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen also voted yes.
Moderates had expected a larger number of Democrats to vote with them, since 10 to 12 Democratic senators had taken part in the negotiations. But in the end, only five switched votes — exactly the number Republicans needed. King, Cortez Masto and Fetterman had already voted in favor of opening the government since October 1st.
A bipartisan agreement
Democrats had voted against reopening the government 14 times as they called for expanding tax credits that would make coverage under the Affordable Care Act more affordable. Republicans said they would not negotiate on health care, but GOP leaders quietly worked with the group of moderates as the contours of a deal began to emerge.
The agreement includes bipartisan bills drafted by the Senate Budget Committee to fund parts of the government, including food aid, veterans programs and the Legislature. All other funding would be extended through the end of January, giving lawmakers more than two months to finalize additional spending bills.
The agreement calls for reinstating federal employees who received reductions or layoffs and compensating states that spent their own funds to keep federal programs running during the shutdown. It would also protect against future workforce cuts through January and guarantee that federal workers will be paid once the shutdown is over.
Democrats call vote a “mistake”
Schumer, who faced blowback from his party in March when he voted to keep the government open, said he could not support it “in good faith” after meeting with his caucus for more than two hours Sunday afternoon to discuss the proposal.
Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with Democrats, said giving up the fight would be a “terrible mistake.” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., agreed, saying voters who overwhelmingly supported Democrats in last week’s election were urging them to “stand firm.”
Democrats in the House of Representatives immediately criticized the Senate.
Texas Rep. Greg Casar, chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said a deal that doesn’t reduce health care costs would be a “betrayal” to millions of Americans who are counting on Democrats to fight.
“Accepting just one small promise from Republicans is not compromise — it’s surrender,” Casar said in a post on X. “Millions of families would pay the price.”
Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota wrote, “If people think this is a ‘deal,’ I have a bridge to sell you.”
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries blamed Republicans and said Democrats would keep fighting.
“Donald Trump and the Republican Party are responsible for the toxic chaos they have wreaked on our country, and the American people know it,” Jeffries said.
The healthcare debate is upon us
It’s unclear whether the two parties could find common ground on health care subsidies before a promised Senate vote in December. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said he would not commit to raising the issue on his chamber floor.
On Monday, Johnson said House Republicans have always been open to voting on reform of what he called the “Unaffordable Care Act,” but again did not say whether they would vote on the subsidies.
Some Republicans have said they are open to expanding COVID-19-era tax credits because premiums could skyrocket for millions of people, but they also want recent limits on who can get the subsidies and argue that taxpayer money for the plans should be funneled through individuals.
Other Republicans, including Trump, used the debate to renew years of criticism of the law and called for it to be abolished or revised.
Shutdown effects are increasing
Meanwhile, the consequences of the shutdown are getting worse. U.S. airlines canceled more than 2,000 flights and there were more than 7,000 flight delays on Sunday for the first time since the lockdown began, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks air travel disruptions.
Treasury Secretary Sean Duffy said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that if the government does not reopen, air travel will be “reduced to a minimum” before Thanksgiving.
At the same time, food assistance for tens of millions of people was delayed as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits became embroiled in litigation related to the shutdown.
And in Washington, home to tens of thousands of federal workers who are not paid, the Capital Area Food Bank said it was providing 8 million more meals ahead of the holidays than it had prepared for this fiscal year — an escalate of nearly 20%.
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Associated Press writers Stephen Groves and Kevin Freking contributed to this report.
