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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Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
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.
RELATED: ‘Pathetic’ Senate Democrats cave, advancing key shutdown vote and prompting intraparty uproar: ‘It’s a surrender’
Photo by Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
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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