Why Five Democrats Broke Almost Six-Week Blockade To Reopen The Government

After 14 failed votes on a spending bill to reopen the government, five additional Democratic senators finally broke with their party for a variety of reasons on Sunday night advancing legislation to end the 41-day standoff.

The newly dissenting Democrats — Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, and Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire — cited new language in the resolution, including a promise for a vote on extending Obamacare subsidies as the basis for their “yes” vote on funding the government Sunday — after doing the opposite more than a dozen times. The Democrats also highlighted ongoing shutdown pains including lapsed food aid, missed paychecks and air travel disruptions, as a driving factor for agreeing to the deal.

The five flipped Democrats joined Independent Maine Sen. Angus King, Democratic Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto and Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman — a trio who have consistently voted yes on the GOP funding resolution since the beginning of the shutdown — to meet the 60-vote filibuster-proof threshold.

Among the group of eight, Sens. Durbin and Shaheen are notably retiring at the end of their current term. None of the breakaway Democrats are running for reelection in 2026.

“Today’s bill is not the same one we’ve voted down 14 times. Republicans finally woke up and realized their Groundhog Day needed to end,” Durbin wrote in a Sunday X post. “This bill is not perfect, but it takes important steps to reduce their shutdown’s hurt. Not only would it fully fund SNAP [Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program] for the year ahead, but it would reverse the mass firings the Trump Administration ordered throughout the shutdown.”

“Now that Democrats secured these wins, it’s time for [Senate Majority] Leader [John] Thune to keep his promise to schedule a vote on the ACA tax credits in December,” Durbin continued. “[W]e will see to it that he makes good on his word for the millions of Americans worried they won’t be able to afford health care in January.”

The promise of a vote to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) — Obamacare — tax credits, a lynchpin of Sunday’s agreement, was vigorously rejected during the shutdown standoff, with Democrats repeating over the last month that the level of trust necessary to work with GOP leadership was simply not there. Thune has promised Democrats a vote on extending the ACA subsidies since mid-October. (RELATED: Eight Senate Democratic Caucus Members Defy Chuck Schumer To Advance Deal That Would End Shutdown)

WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 09: Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), left, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), center, and Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), right, arrive for a press conference following a vote on Capitol Hill on November 9, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Senate convened for a rare Sunday session in an attempt to end the government shutdown. (Photo by Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)

Shaheen said on Sunday that her priorities are to “both reopen government and extend the ACA enhanced premium tax credits,” and that the deal agreed to on Sunday evening was a way to reach both of these goals. 

“No one in the Senate chamber wants to extend the ACA tax credits more than I do,” Shaheen said at a press conference Sunday. “I introduced that legislation in 2019, I fought successfully to pass it in 2021 and 2023, and I am 100% committed to getting this done.”

Kaine noted that the deal will protect federal employees from “baseless firings” while also providing back pay for lost shutdown wages. Kaine, the failed 2016 Democratic vice presidential nominee, also argued that Democrats could benefit politically if Republicans ultimately reject an ACA bill vote guaranteed by the Sunday deal.

“This deal guarantees a vote to extend Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, which Republicans weren’t willing to do,” Kaine wrote on Sunday. “Lawmakers know their constituents expect them to vote for it, and if they don’t, they could very well be replaced at the ballot box by someone who will.”

WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 09: Sen. Angus King (I-ME) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) are seen during a press conference following a vote on Capitol Hill on November 9, 2025 in Washington, DC. The Senate convened for a rare Sunday session in an attempt to end the government shutdown. (Photo by Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)

Rosen articulated the concession as a necessary step due to what she described as Republicans’ “weaponizing their power in alarming ways,” as demonstrated in her view most clearly through the withholding of SNAP benefits, which, though protected prior to the shutdown, were withheld late in October. 

“The concession we’ve been able to extract to get closer to extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits is a vote on a bill drafted and negotiated by Senate Democrats,” Rosen wrote in a statement Sunday. “Let me be clear: I will keep fighting like hell to ensure we force Republicans to get this done.”

Hassan, the fifth dissenting Democrat, echoed her colleagues in their sentiments regarding federal worker firings, missed paychecks, and SNAP benefits. Hassan also issued a warning similar to Kaine’s in the importance of the promised ACA vote. 

“Congress has one month to engage in serious, bipartisan negotiations to extend the Affordable Care Act’s expiring tax cuts for health insurance,” Hassan wrote in a statement Sunday. “With the government reopening shortly, Senate Republicans must finally come to the table — or, make no mistake, Americans will remember who stood in the way.” (RELATED: Hakeem Jeffries, Progressive Dems Rage Against Deal To End Shutdown)

WASHINGTON, DC – NOVEMBER 10: U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) walks to the podium ahead of his remarks to reporters, on November 10, 2025 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. The Senate reached a deal late Sunday to fund the government, aiming to end the longest shutdown in history. (Photo by Tom Brenner/Getty Images)

Republicans are unlikely to support a clean ACA extension and have argued the subsidies must be reformed to root out waste and abuse. Republican Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy proposed one such reform in a Senate floor speech on Sunday evening prior to the successful funding vote. 

Hassan urged Speaker Mike Johnson to quickly bring the House into session to approve the Senate’s funding resolution and reopen the government. The House has not taken a vote since Sept. 19, when it passed its initial spending measure to avert a shutdown. 

Johnson commended the eight democrats who crossed party lines during a press conference on Monday. 

“At least some Democrats now finally appear ready to do what Republicans and President Trump and millions of hard working American people have been asking them to do for weeks,” Johnson told reporters. “As we said from the beginning, the people’s government cannot be held hostage to further anyone’s political agenda.”

Adam Pack contributed to this report.

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