On Monday night, the Senate passed a bill that marks the first step towards potentially reopening the government after the 42-day shutdown.
For Democrats, the bill comes with a major cost: It does nothing to address the rapidly-approaching expiration of Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies which, according to health policy think tank KFF, will more than double enrollees’ monthly premiums. While Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has pledged to hold a vote on the issue next month, it’s unlikely to pass in any form Democrats would want in the Republican-controlled Congress, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has refused to commit to holding a vote on the matter in the House. (Spokespeople for Thune did not respond to a request for comment.)
But the 60-to-40 vote passed thanks to seven Democrats, and one Democrat-aligned independent, who defected to pass the bill. As Mother Jones‘ editor-in-chief Clara Jeffery pointed out on Bluesky, none of the lawmakers are up for reelection next year. The officials have said they cast their votes because Americans were already being harmed by the shutdown—low-income Americans have gone without food stamps and flights have been delayed at the busiest time of year for holiday travel—and they felt confident in Republicans’ commitment to give them a later vote on extending the ACA subsidies. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), one of the defectors, also cited the fact that the bill has a provision to rehire federal employees who lost their jobs during the shutdown and to provide back pay to those who had been furloughed.
Predictably, all this has caused even more infighting among Democrats, who have already been sparring over their party’s future following President Donald Trump’s reelection and the party’s subsequent internal reckoning over how it happened. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called it “a very bad vote,” and Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said, “there’s no way to defend this.” Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.) told Axios the bill is “complete BS,” while Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Vt.) said it “sounds like a lousy deal to me.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) have also opposed the bill for failing to address the expiring ACA subsidies—but Schumer is also facing blowback from congressional Democrats who say the defection of some members proves he is not up to the task of leading Democrats in the Senate. (A spokesperson for Schumer did not respond to a request for comment.)
Mother Jones readers are also, overall, quite angry about the Democrats’ response. When I asked subscribers to our daily email newsletter yesterday to weigh in with their thoughts, we received a flood of replies. Many described being, as one anonymous reader put it “mad as hell.” Reader Andrea Scharf called the vote “disgraceful” and “another show of weakness.” Tom Chojnacki wrote: “Those Democrats are weak minded cowards. They are aiding and abetting the Republicans goal of remaking the US into an oligarchy.”
The word “spineless” came up frequently to describe the eight defectors: Steve Anchell said, “I think they are spineless cretins that don’t deserve to hold public office. The only thing they seem to be good at is begging for campaign money.” Angela Ross wrote: “I THINK THEY ARE SPINELESS, MEALY MOUTHED, BLOOD SUCKING, TWO FACED BOTTOM FEEDERS.”
Several joined in the calls for Schumer to be ousted as the Senate Minority Leader. Eileen, who did not give her last name, said Schumer “needs to hand over the minority leader position to a Democrat who will fight tooth and nail.”
Other said the defectors were mistaken to believe the Republicans would actually vote to extend the ACA subsidies. “Trump and the GOP have time and time again broken promises. They will do so again,” wrote David Clayman. “The pain inflicted upon the populace has been in vain.”
Some, like Grace Hammond, said they believed the Democrats gave up leverage they had following their spate of wins in last week’s elections. “Democrats had clear, tangible leverage for the first time in this fight, undeniable pressure, and they cave,” Hammond wrote. “I was having a glimmer of hope after the elections,” Suzann Cornell said. “Now that we caved, those hopes are dashed again.” (Polling also showed that most Americans blamed Republicans, not Democrats, for the shutdown.)
A smaller group of respondents, such as Kathy Walker, reported having “mixed feelings” due to “too many people suffering” during the shutdown. Some readers reported already feeling those effects themselves.
“Our son and wife will be unable to afford medical insurance until next year when they will qualify for Medicare. In the meantime, I, nearly 90, will have to help them pay their premiums from my Social Security benefits,” wrote Dell Erwin.
Michelle Mellon said her family’s premiums will triple next year, adding, “It’s this politicized, short-term, zero-sum thinking that’s going to be our downfall as a nation.” Christine Morrisey said the premium increases “are forcing families, including mine, to cancel insurance policies in favor of paying for energy costs, grocery costs, rent costs, mortgage costs, and home owner’s insurance costs, all [of] which have also increased since Trump became president.”
A handful of anonymous readers shared stories about how ACA subsidies helped them, and their family members, receive necessary treatment and medications. Without the subsidies, they wrote, they will lose their coverage, and potentially their health. As one put it: “I am distraught. I feel betrayed by the Democratic Party.”
