After 40 days, the longest shutdown in U.S. history, eight Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to end it and got basically none of what they were fighting for. The âdealâ is a continuing resolution that reopens the government on the same terms the GOP offered six weeks ago.
Theyâd been holding out for an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies affecting 22â24 million people. Instead, they accepted a non-binding promise of a vote later. No guarantee of passage. No House commitment. No Trump signature.
This all came four days after Democrats won big in the November 5 electionsâvictories that should have stiffened their spine. But after flight cancellations, SNAP cuts, and federal workers about to miss a third paycheck, leadership folded. Republicans stayed unified.
The âDealâ
What Democrats wanted: a real extension of ACA premium tax credits in the bill. Without it, 22â24 million Americans face premium hikes averaging +114% starting January 1. Some families will see $20,000+ increases, and millions will lose coverage entirely.
What they got: a promise from John Thune to schedule a December vote. Meaningless.
- no guarantee it passes the Senate
- no House vote promised
- no presidential backing
- Republicans already drafting replacement bills turning subsidies into HSA schemes
Other scraps:
- funding through January 30, 2026
- a few full-year appropriations bills (VA, Agriculture, Legislative Branch, MilCon)
- reversal of 4,000 layoff notices and back pay for furloughed workers
- SNAP restored, after a month of chaos that states now have to fix if they made partial payments
Crumbs!!!
Who Broke Ranks
Eight Democrats voted yes at 8:27 p.m. ET on November 9. None of them face voters in 2026 đ€. Thatâs how you know the fix is inâthe others get to pretend to be angry now.
Retiring: Durbin (IL), Shaheen (NH). Up in 2028: Hassan, Fetterman, Cortez Masto. Up in 2030: Kaine, Rosen, King (technically independent, but come on).
Everyone elseâ32 Democratsâvoted no. Rand Paul was the lone Republican âno,â for his usual reasons.
Moderates who donât have to answer to voters tanked the caucus strategy. Progressives are fuming, and rightfully so.
What Democrats Surrendered
- Healthcare leverage: 22â24 million people face doubled premiums, the entire reason for the shutdown gone.
- No impoundment guardrails: Trump can keep withholding funds Congress already passed.
- Federal worker âprotectionsâ good for maybe ten weeks.
- Short-term funding means another January cliff, with less leverage.
- Identical deal to the October 1 offer. Democrats could have done this exact thing 35 days ago.
Democrats had just won elections that were supposed to prove voters supported their standâVirginia, New Jersey, big wins. Bernie, Murphy, and Schumer all said this was their mandate to hold firm. Even Trump admitted the shutdown hurt Republicans.
And then, within 72 hours of those wins, moderates told leadership theyâd reopen the government anyway. The rest of the caucus âwent ballistic.â It didnât matter.
Air travel chaos pushed it over the edge: thousands of cancellations, more than 10,000 delays, air traffic controllers unpaid for 40 days. Durbin cited that specifically. Once flights were affected, the politics changed overnightâbecause senators use planes, not SNAP.
The GOP won by letting real-world pain build until Democrats caved.
Republicans Got Everything
- ACA subsidies expire January 1
- No enforcement of their âpromiseâ
- Short-term CR gives them more leverage in January
- Trump keeps his impoundment power
- Public perception: Republicans âstood firm,â Democrats blinked
They didnât even have to offer concessions. They just waited.
Schumerâs Role in All This
Schumer voted against the CR publicly while apparently approving it privately. Shaheen said leadership was informed the whole time. Sources say he âgave express approvalâ to the moderates. Either he orchestrated the cave or lost control of his caucusâneither is good.
House Democrats are livid. Ro Khanna (!) called him ineffective. Ritchie Torres (!! donât make me quote Ritchie Torres!!) called it surrender. Newsom called it âpathetic.â
Itâs Schumerâs second collapse this year, after letting a March CR through without protecting agencies from Trump and Musk dismantling them.
TL;DR
Democrats fought 40 days, caused real pain, won elections proving they had leverage, then accepted a deal functionally identical to the one they rejected in October.
Republicans learned they can win by doing nothing. Democrats learned⊠idk what they learned. Apparently nothing.
Millions will see doubled premiums in January. Federal workers get a breather until February. And Schumer gets to pretend he voted ânoâ out of principle. Forty days of suffering for a pinky promise.