While a number of Democratic lawmakers are voicing their support for a new bipartisan deal to bring the 40-day federal government shutdown to an end, members of the party’s left-flank are furious about the proposed agreement.
Progressive Democratic lawmakers and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries excoriated a deal Sunday negotiated by fellow members of their party to reopen the government, citing their fear Democrats are going to cave without winning any substantive concessions in the shutdown fight. The group of Democrats argued their party should withhold their votes until Republicans agree to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies. (RELATED: Thune Warns Democrats Against Seizing On Election Results To Keep Shutdown Going)
“We will not support spending legislation advanced by Senate Republicans that fails to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits,” Jeffries wrote on X. “We will fight the GOP bill in the House of Representatives,” the minority leader added.
The minority leader did not mention that eight Senate Democrats would have to vote “yes” on the spending bills to send the legislation to the House. Just three members of the Democratic caucus have voted to advance a stopgap spending bill since the beginning of the record-breaking shutdown; adding their support to that of 52 Senate Republicans, however, falls short of the upper chamber’s 60-vote threshold for legislation.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer also told reporters Sunday he opposed the bipartisan deal.
A handful of Senate Democrats, however, indicated Sunday they would flip their position to “yes” and support a bipartisan framework to end the funding lapse. Senate Republicans are also expected to support the agreement except for Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, who typically opposes government funding bills.
The emerging deal includes a stopgap spending bill which extends government funding levels through the end of January 2026 and advances three full-year appropriations bills.
The agreement notably omits a guaranteed extension of the expiring ACA subsidies. Still, Senate Majority Leader John Thune has offered Democrats a vote on an ACA extension bill of their choosing in December. The measure, however, could face an uphill climb to clear the filibuster due to Republicans’ widespread opposition to extending the subsidies without significant reform.
Jeffries said earlier Sunday a vote to extend the Obamacare subsidies which is not guaranteed to pass is insufficient. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, meanwhile, has notably offered Democrats a vote on extending the ACA subsidies since mid-October.
Leading progressive Democrats in both the House and Senate agreed with Jeffries’s argument.