WASHINGTON, D.C. — After 41 days of gridlock, a glimmer of hope has emerged in Washington. For the first time in nearly six weeks, the shutdown’s grip may finally be loosening.
Sunday night, eight Democrats — including Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman — joined Republicans to advance a short-term funding bill that could reopen the government.
“After 40 days as a consistent voice against shutting our government down, I voted YES for the 15th time to REOPEN,” said Fetterman, D-Pa., in a statement. “I’m sorry to our military, SNAP recipients, gov workers, and Capitol Police who haven’t been paid in weeks… It should’ve never come to this. This was a failure.”
The plan extends funding through January and unlocks three longer-term spending bills — including one to fund SNAP benefits for the next fiscal year.
It’s the first real breakthrough after 14 failed Senate votes.
As part of the deal, Republicans agreed to a future vote on Affordable Care Act tax credits — a major Democratic demand throughout this process that helped prompt the shutdown. Without that extension, millions are expected to see premiums soar — and Democrats have been sounding the alarm on those concerns for weeks.
Although Republicans agreed to a vote on the tax credits extension, there is no guarantee it will become law. Many Democrats are angry that the eight members broke ranks to support the measure, saying it fails to include what they’ve been fighting for over the course of six weeks.
“Republicans currently control the House, the Senate, and the White House. Their refusal to work with Democrats to make life more affordable has led to the longest government shutdown in American history — a crisis that is hurting families, workers, and small businesses in New York and across the country,” said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., who opposes the funding measure.
“I cannot trust the Republicans to do the right thing, so I don’t believe the vote to restore health care will be successful. Because of this lack of trust, I will not support this deal, which fails to address the needs of 20 million Americans facing skyrocketing health care costs and instead rubber-stamps policies that reward billionaires at the expense of everyone else.”
“I cannot support the Republican bill that’s on the floor because it fails to do anything of substance to fix America’s health care crisis,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “Republicans now own this health care crisis. They knew it was coming.”
Democrats who made the deal and support the plan cited shutdown fatigue, the growing impact on their constituents, and the fact that the Trump administration appears unwilling to budge.
“I understand that not all of my Democratic colleagues are satisfied with this agreement, but waiting another week or another month wouldn’t deliver a better outcome. It would only mean more harm for families in New Hampshire and all across the country,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.
Senators are expected to vote on the funding measure as early as Monday evening. If the bill passes the Senate, the House- which has been out of session for over a month- must return to Washington and set the framework to consider and pass the bill. The process could take days.
