After inflicting the longest government shutdown in history on the American people — including interrupting food aid to low-income families and creating chaos at the nation’s airports — Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan led the effort Sunday night to end their party’s filibuster and hand Republicans a win.
The first vote in the process passed 60–40 late Sunday, a sign the Democrats’ fight is over.
The shutdown, already the longest in U.S. history, halted paychecks for hundreds of thousands of federal workers and disrupted services ranging from airport operations to food-assistance programs.
“Republicans control the White House, the Senate, and the House, and they made clear over a period of weeks, including just this week, that this was as far as they would go as part of the shutdown talks, this was the only deal on the table,” Shaheen said. “It was our best chance to reopen the government and immediately begin negotiations to extend the ACA tax credits that tens of millions of Americans rely on to keep costs down.”
“Washington’s dysfunction is making life harder for families, and the last 39 days (sic), a record-long government shutdown, record-high health insurance cost increases are not the kind of history that the American people want Congress to make,” added Hassan. “After weeks of bipartisan conversations, I voted today to reopen the government so that we can get back to the work of helping Granite State.”
Until Sunday night, Hassan and Shaheen had supported the shutdown despite its impact on Granite Staters, voting 14 times to continue the Democratic filibuster blocking a clean continuing resolution — a spending bill that funds the government at pre-shutdown levels.
The legislation agreed to Sunday night would reopen the government through January 2026, pairing a short-term spending measure with three full-year appropriations bills, including funding for veterans programs, agriculture, and Congress’ operations.
The package of bills, sometimes called a “minibus,” is part of a Republican plan to end the shutdown. Under the strategy, the chamber would vote on advancing the House-passed continuing resolution before amending it to include the full-year funding measures, as well as a longer extension of government funding. The plan also includes an agreement to vote on a pre-determined date on an extension of health insurance tax credits that Democrats have sought.
The Democrats who voted Sunday night to abandon the filibuster in a test vote:
- Dick Durbin (Ill.)
- John Fetterman (Pa.)
- Maggie Hassan (N.H.)
- Tim Kaine (Va.)
- Angus King (I-Maine)
- Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.)
- Jacky Rosen (Nev.)
- Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.)
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Republican leadership say reopening the government now — while scheduling a future vote on extending Affordable Care Act premium subsidies — represents a responsible path forward. Republicans insist funding must be restored before continuing policy fights over health care and other priorities.
But progressive Democrats balked, arguing that a mere promise of a future vote on health care subsidies is not enough. They want the ACA emergency funding extension included in the bill itself and want their party to hold out, even if it prolongs the shutdown.
“Senate Democrats blink on the shutdown after 40 days of pain,” was the MSNBC headline.
“Senate Reaches Deal To Reopen Government After Moderate Democrats Cave,” wrote HuffPost.
National Democratic Party Chair Ken Martin also criticized the deal.
“I stand with Democratic leadership as they refuse to rubber-stamp the full-scale Republican assault on Americans’ health care, and I am proud of the majority of Senate Democrats who opposed this vote.”
While Hassan and Shaheen insist this was the best deal their party could get, elected Democrats across the ideological spectrum denounced the two New Hampshire Democrats and the others who gave up on the shutdown strategy.
“This was a very, very bad vote,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who carried New Hampshire in the 2016 and 2020 Democratic presidential primaries.
“Pathetic,” tweeted Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.), widely believed to be on the Democrats’ 2028 presidential short list.
“As I’ve always said, I will not support a government funding bill that continues to raise our costs, jeopardizes our health care, and hurts the people of my state,” said Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), also a potential 2028 contender. “I will not let up in this fight.”
Booker may experience some uncomfortable moments on Friday when he is the keynote speaker at the New Hampshire Democratic Party’s Eleanor Roosevelt fundraising dinner, with Hassan and Shaheen in attendance.
As for the New Hampshire Democrats hoping to replace Shaheen when she retires next year — Karishma Manzur, U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, and state Rep. Jared Sullivan (D-Bethlehem) — none had publicly commented on the Hassan-Shaheen deal as of late Sunday night.
One person who spoke out late Sunday night: Shaheen’s daughter Stefany, who’s running for the Democratic nominee in the NH-01 primary.
“Improving health care has been the cause of my life. It’s why I am running for Congress. So I cannot support this deal when Speaker Johnson refuses to even allow a vote to extend health care tax credits,” Stefany Shaheen said.
