The Senate on Sunday took the first step toward ending the government shutdown after a group of moderate Democrats agreed to send funding to health-care subsidies, a move that angered many in their caucus who argued Americans want them to keep pressing the fight.
In a 60-40 test vote, the chamber moved toward approving a compromise. It was to fund the government and to hold a vote on extending Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire Jan. 1. Final passage could come only after further votes and potential delays by Democrats, potentially pushing the process into several more days.
The deal doesn’t promise that health care subsidies will be extended, which is something Democrats have been pushing for for almost six weeks. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer from New York voted against moving forward with the package, along with all but eight of his Democratic colleagues.
A group of three former governors—New Hampshire’s Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan, and Maine Republican-turned-Independent Angus King—broke the six-week deadlock on Sunday. They agreed to vote to push three bipartisan annual spending bills and to extend the rest of the government funding until late January, but only in exchange for a mid-December vote on extending the health care tax credits.
The deal also reverses the mass firings of federal workers by the Trump administration since the shutdown began on Oct. 1, and it would make sure federal workers get back pay.
When Trump got back to the White House Sunday night after the football game, he didn’t say whether he backed the deal, but he did say, “It looks like we’re getting close to the shutdown ending.”
Meanwhile, the shutdown was really piling up its effects. Airlines canceled more than 2,000 flights on Sunday for the first time since the shutdown started, and there were over 7,000 delays, according to FlightAware, the site that tracks travel problems.
And in Washington, where tens of thousands of federal workers aren’t getting paid, the Capital Area Food Bank said it will provide 8 million more meals before the holidays—almost a 20% bump from what it planned for this budget year.
