On Obamacare, Are Democrats Trying To Make A Law Or Just A Political Point?
While Senate Majority Leader John Thune has promised Democrats a vote on a subsidy extension in the coming weeks, it remains unclear what legislation senators will vote on.Here's everything Senate Republicans accomplished while Democrats forced record-breaking shutdown
While Democrats forced the longest government shutdown in American history, Senate Republicans continued to implement President Donald Trump's agenda.
Democrats initially shut down the government for a record-breaking 43 days in an attempt to force Republicans to negotiate on Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year. Over 40 days into the shutdown, eight Senate Democrats eventually caved and voted with Republicans to pass the funding bill Monday night.
'Democrats stood on the sidelines.'
Senate Democrats walked away from the shutdown with nothing to show for it except for a commitment from Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to hold a vote on ACA subsidies. Notably, this offer was available to Democrats on day one of the shutdown.
As Democrats feigned outrage over the shutdown they started, Thune and his Republican colleagues were hard at work confirming Trump's nominees and passing legislation with conservative wins.
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In the early days of the shutdown, Senate Republicans confirmed a batch of 107 of Trump's nominees in a 51-47 party-line vote. Throughout the shutdown, the Senate also confirmed 11 nominees to serve as federal judges.
Since Trump took office in January, the Senate has confirmed 310 civilian nominations, including high-profile Cabinet members, federal judges, and ambassadors.
The Senate also passed several key pieces of legislation to advance Trump's agenda during the shutdown while Democrats stood on the sidelines.
Senate Republicans unanimously passed four Congressional Review Act resolutions aimed at addressing and even repealing former President Joe Biden's energy policies. One resolution even secured the support of Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who consistently voted with Republicans throughout the shutdown to reopen the government.
The National Defense Authorization Act also got the Senate's stamp of approval, providing an additional $6 billion in addition to the $25 billion allocated in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to boost the production for crucial munitions like F-35s and shipbuilding.
In addition to bolstering American military dominance, the NDAA "repeals or amends more than 100 provisions of statute to streamline the defense acquisition process, reduce administrative complexity, and remove outdated requirements, limitations, and other matters.”
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Trump officially ends 'pathetic' Democrats' record-breaking shutdown
President Donald Trump officially ended the Democrats' record-breaking shutdown after House Republicans passed the funding bill Wednesday night.
Trump signed the GOP's continuing resolution into law after the House passed the bill in a 222-209 vote, bringing the 43-day shutdown to a close. The House vote largely fell on party lines, with 216 Republicans voting in favor and 207Democrats voting against the funding bill. Notably, two Republicans voted against the bill and six Democrats voted in favor of it.
'Don't forget what they've done to our country.'
"People were hurt so badly," Trump said from the Oval Office Wednesday night. "Nobody's ever seen anything like this one. This was a no-brainer. This was an easy extension. But they didn't want to do it the easy way. They had to do it the hard way."
"They look very bad, the Democrats do," Trump added.
Trump urged Americans across the country to remember the pain inflicted by the Democrat shutdown when the 2026 midterms come around.
"I just want to tell the American people: You should not forget this," Trump said. "When we come up to midterms and other things, don't forget what they've done to our country."
Democrats initiated the government shutdown after blocking the GOP's clean continuing resolution from passing in the Senate before the September 30 funding deadline.
After prolonging the shutdown for over 40 days, eight Senate Democrats caved and passed the funding bill in the Senate, sparking intraparty outrage for agreeing to a "pathetic" political deal.
The only concession Democrats managed to secure was a reversal of reduction-in-force notices implemented during the shutdown and the prevention of any more RIFs through January 30, the day the new funding deal expires. This affects only about 4,200 of the roughly 150,000 federal layoffs that have taken place during President Donald Trump's second term.
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The main reason Democrats shut the government down in the first place was to renegotiate Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year. Rather than securing any commitments from Republicans to negotiate or amend any health-care-related policies, Democrats walked away with a promise from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to hold a vote on extending the subsidies.
This is the same deal that was on the table since day one of the government shutdown.
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House Democrats cave, vote for GOP bill to end record-breaking shutdown
House Republicans passed a government funding bill late Wednesday night, bringing Democrats' record-breaking shutdown closer to a welcome end.
The continuing resolution passed in a 222-209 vote, with 216 Republicans voting in favor and 209 Democrats voting against the funding bill. Two Republicans, Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Greg Steube of Florida, voted against the bill.
'Democrats gained nothing from their shutdown while hardworking families paid the price.'
Several Democrats also crossed the aisle, with a handful voting in favor of reopening the government. Democrat Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, who is retiring at the end of this term, bucked his party, alongside Reps. Adam Gray of California, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Don Davis of North Carolina, Henry Cuellar of Texas, and Tom Suozzi of New York.
The resolution is now headed to President Donald Trump's desk, where he is expected to sign the bill into law Wednesday night and reopen the government.
The House vote took place just days after eight Democrat senators caved over the weekend and voted alongside Republicans to pass the funding bill in the Senate Monday night. These Democrats include Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Angus King (I) of Maine, and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada.
Although some lawmakers crossed the aisle to reopen the government, Democrats ultimately failed to secure commitments from Republicans to negotiate health care policy.
"For over six weeks, Democrats held our country hostage over demands for health care for illegal aliens and to prove to their base they could 'stand up' to President Trump," Republican Study Committee Chairman August Pfluger (Texas) told Blaze News.
"Let me be clear: Democrats gained nothing from their shutdown while hardworking families paid the price," Pfluger added. "Now, it is time to get back to governing and delivering on the mandate we were given by the American people last November."
RELATED: Senate Republicans pass key deal with Democrat defectors as end to record-long shutdown draws near
The reason Democrats shut down the government in the first place was to force the GOP to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year.
Democrats fell short, securing only a commitment from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) to hold a vote on extending the subsidies. Notably, this offer was available to Democrats on day one of the government shutdown.
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Senate Democrats insist the shutdown was 'definitely' worth it despite fully surrendering to Republicans
Democratic senators finally capitulated to Republicans after the drawn-out, record-breaking government shutdown. Although Democrats didn't actually accomplish anything, they maintain the shutdown was worth it.
Democrats originally shut down the government to force Republicans' hand on extending health care subsidies from the Affordable Care Act that are set to expire at the end of the year. Over 40 days later, eight Democrats caved and voted with Republicans to reopen the government without securing a deal on health care.
'We got people to pay attention.'
Republicans' only concession to Democrats was to reverse reduction-in-force notices issued during the shutdown and a commitment to refrain from implementing any more through January 30, when the continuing resolution expires.
After eight Democrats flipped and voted with Republicans to pass the continuing resolution, many of their colleagues expressed outrage and disappointment. Even still, some Senate Democrats maintain that the record-breaking shutdown was worth it.
Democratic Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado told CNN that demonstrating the overwhelming reliance millions of Americans have on the federal government made the shutdown worth it.
"Yeah, I think so," Hickenlooper said. "I hate it, but yeah, it was worth it. Definitely."
"We got people to pay attention to the fact that this is a traumatic, in many cases, life-or-death situation all over this country."
RELATED: Senate Republicans pass key deal with Democrat defectors as end to record-long shutdown draws near
Democratic Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island echoed Hickenlooper, saying the shutdown was worthwhile.
"I think it was," Reed said after a long pause. "Because I think the perception, we made it clear that it's not just a health care issue, but the whole issue. I think it was remarkable when the president tried to use SNAP as the punishment to force us to capitulate."
Notably, Reed's claim that President Donald Trump weaponized food assistance programs like SNAP to bully Democrats is inaccurate. Congress is the only political body responsible for appropriating SNAP, and Democrats intentionally shut down and refused to reopen the government for over 40 days.
Additionally, neither Hickenlooper nor Reed were among the eight Democrats who voted to reopen the government.
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