The Senate voted late Monday to end the record-long government shutdown, but one senator’s explanation of the deal sparked fury online.
Seven Democratic senators and independent Angus King of Maine sided with the Republicans to advance the legislation.
The deal will fund the federal government until January 30 and includes appropriations for key programs, including SNAP, which provides food assistance to nearly 42 million Americans.
Highlights
- The Senate ended the longest government shutdown with 7 Democrats joining Republicans to fund the government until January 30.
- Senator Angus King justified his vote by saying the shutdown failed to weaken Trump and instead increased his power.
- Internet users harshly criticized King and the 7 Democrats for ending the shutdown without achieving ACA progress.
- Key Democrats, including Gavin Newsom and Ro Khanna, condemned the deal as capitulation and called for stronger leadership.
The internet is furious with the eight senators who voted alongside Republicans to end the government shutdown
Image credits: Win McNamee/Getty Images
It also reverses federal layoffs during the shutdown and ensures all affected workers receive back pay.
However, most Democrats have denounced the deal because it failed to address the central issue that caused the standoff: extending the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
Lawmakers agreed to hold a future vote on the subsidies, but Republicans have not promised to pass it. In the absence of it, millions are at risk of higher health-care costs.
Image credits: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
King appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Tuesday to justify his vote.
“You have to go back to what the strategy was at the beginning of the shutdown. There were two goals, both of which I support,” King said.
“One was standing up to Donald Trump,” he said. “The other was getting some resolution on the ACA premium tax credit issue. The problem was the shutdown wasn't accomplishing either goal, and there was practically… well, there was zero likelihood that it was going to.”
King said the shutdown failed to achieve its first goal, and it “actually gave him [Trump] more power. Exhibit A being what he’s done with SNAP and SNAP benefits across the country.”
He continued, “Oh, by the way, Joe, you're gonna love this. Guess who’s getting paid during the shutdown? Not the park rangers or air traffic controllers—the ICE agents.
“Under special law under that big awful bill that they passed last summer, the ICE agents are being paid, nobody else is.”
Congress members also continued to be paid during the shutdown, a point King failed to mention.
“So, standing up to Donald Trump didn't work—it actually gave him more power,” King concluded his argument.
Users were enraged over Angus King’s justification that standing up to Trump did not work
Image credits: X
But the internet was enraged. “IT WAS LITERALLY WORKING YOU F*****G LOSERS,” responded one social media user. Another user posted a collage of all eight members who voted with the Republicans, captioned, “Shame on You.”
“Ok so your solution is to roll on your back and expose your throat. Got it. That’s how you handle fascist bullies,” a third person commented.
Image credits: X
Another user explained it from a regular citizen’s perspective.
“King admitting standing up to Trump didn’t work in a shutdown cave-in? While federal workers starve and families scrape by are we supposed to applaud this capitulation or rage at the spineless surrender? Is this compromise or just another damn white flag to the bully? What the hell are we supposed to do when senators fold like cheap suits and call it strategy?” the user said.
Image credits: X
The frustration came as the U.S. witnessed its longest government shutdown in history. As a result, more than 1.4 million federal employees are either furloughed or working without pay, and over 40 million recipients lost SNAP benefits.
The only concession for Democrats is that a vote will be held on whether to extend ACA subsidies, which are due to expire in 2026, in mid-December. But House Speaker Mike Johnson has declined to guarantee a vote.
Without these subsidies, 22 million Americans will see their monthly premium payments more than double.
Republicans have not promised a vote to extend the Affordable Care Act
Image credits: Tom Brenner/Getty Images
Several Democratic members have blasted the Senate Democrats who voted to pass the stopgap.
“Tonight’s Senate vote on the federal government shutdown should have been a time for strength,” California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X. “Instead we saw capitulation and a betrayal of working Americans.”
California Rep. Ro Khanna criticized Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer after the vote passed under his watch.
“Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced,” he said on X.
“If you can’t lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?”
Image credits: Tom Williams/Getty Images
The House Rules Committee advanced the bill on party lines after a seven-hour session late Monday.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries urged House Democrats to vote ‘no’ shortly before the bill was passed in the Senate. “We're not going to support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of the American people,” Jeffries said.
Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, who helped broker the deal, explained her decision-making to reporters on Monday.
“If the Republicans don't come to the table, if Donald Trump, who claims he can make a deal, is not willing to say to Speaker Johnson, 'you need to have a vote, you need to get something done,' then come next election, in the midterms, the American people are going to hold them accountable and we are going to continue to make this an issue,” Shaheen said.
The funding package includes three full-year appropriations bills for military construction, veterans affairs, the legislative branch, and the Department of Agriculture.
It provides $852 million for U.S. Capitol Police and $203.5 million for congressional security upgrades.
Donald Trump and the GOP have come out on top in the shutdown impasse
Image credits: The White House/Flickr
The White House has endorsed the Senate plan, calling it a “positive development” and signaling President Donald Trump will sign it once it passes in the House.
Trump told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, “I think, based on everything I’m hearing, they haven’t changed anything, and we have support from enough Democrats, and we’re going to be opening up our country,” Trump said about signing the bill.
“It’s too bad it was closed, but we’ll be opening up our country very quickly.”