After weeks of stalemate and mounting public pressure, Democrats finally cracked.
The Senate voted 60–40 on Sunday night to advance bipartisan legislation that would end the record-long shutdown — and it only moved because eight Democrats jumped ship.
Catherine Cortez Masto, Dick Durbin, John Fetterman, Maggie Hassan, Tim Kaine, Angus King, Jeanne Shaheen, and Jacky Rosen crossed the aisle, joining nearly every Republican to push the bill over the 60-vote threshold.
Rand Paul was the lone GOP holdout.
The move places the Senate onto the House-passed continuing resolution, now serving as the vehicle for a broader agreement crafted during a rare weekend session Republicans forced into motion.
The deal creates a three-bill “minibus” fully funding Agriculture and the FDA, Veterans Affairs and military construction, and the legislative branch.
Every other agency will stay funded at current levels through Jan. 30, giving appropriators time to finish the remaining bills.
Democrats’ biggest demand — extending Obamacare subsidies — didn’t survive intact.
Leader John Thune agreed only to hold a vote in December, with zero guarantee the measure will pass the Senate, clear the House, or ever reach President Trump’s desk.
In the end, Republicans secured the funding path. Democrats walked away with a promise, and nothing more.
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