Senate Democrats, including key leaders, have come under fire for siding with Republicans to reopen the government without securing any concessions on preserving health care coverage.
The decision was made despite weeks of argument that a prolonged shutdown was necessary to ensure the preservation of subsidies administered under the Affordable Care Act in the next spending package. However, Senate Republicans agreed to hold a separate vote on ACA subsidies by the end of the year.
According to Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who voted for the deal to end the government shutdown, "It proved the point that Republicans are not sensitive to health care insurance premiums and we are sensitive to health care insurance premiums."
Durbin stated that Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was "disappointed" by his decision but understood it. The minority leader's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Intercept.
The decision has been met with severe backlash, with many Democratic members of Congress calling on Schumer to resign and some of the party's 2026 hopefuls expressing similar sentiments.
"It proved the point that Republicans are not sensitive to health care insurance premiums and we are sensitive to health care insurance premiums," said Durbin. "and the national polls show that we've made a national issue out of [it]."
However, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., stated that Republicans will not vote to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, saying, "Why would I continue to give tens of billions of dollars to insurance companies?"
Despite agreeing to allow a vote in the Senate, Republicans seem unlikely to pass a bill to keep those subsidies in place.
Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., called the outcome a “betrayal” of working-class families and stated that the American people have endured the longest government shutdown in history only to see a small group of Senate Democrats concoct a so-called ‘deal’ that guarantees nothing on health care.
The eight senators who broke to support the deal are not up for reelection, suggesting that Democrats understand how unpopular the decision is with their base.
The decision was made despite weeks of argument that a prolonged shutdown was necessary to ensure the preservation of subsidies administered under the Affordable Care Act in the next spending package. However, Senate Republicans agreed to hold a separate vote on ACA subsidies by the end of the year.
According to Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., who voted for the deal to end the government shutdown, "It proved the point that Republicans are not sensitive to health care insurance premiums and we are sensitive to health care insurance premiums."
Durbin stated that Minority Leader Chuck Schumer was "disappointed" by his decision but understood it. The minority leader's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Intercept.
The decision has been met with severe backlash, with many Democratic members of Congress calling on Schumer to resign and some of the party's 2026 hopefuls expressing similar sentiments.
"It proved the point that Republicans are not sensitive to health care insurance premiums and we are sensitive to health care insurance premiums," said Durbin. "and the national polls show that we've made a national issue out of [it]."
However, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., stated that Republicans will not vote to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, saying, "Why would I continue to give tens of billions of dollars to insurance companies?"
Despite agreeing to allow a vote in the Senate, Republicans seem unlikely to pass a bill to keep those subsidies in place.
Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., called the outcome a “betrayal” of working-class families and stated that the American people have endured the longest government shutdown in history only to see a small group of Senate Democrats concoct a so-called ‘deal’ that guarantees nothing on health care.
The eight senators who broke to support the deal are not up for reelection, suggesting that Democrats understand how unpopular the decision is with their base.
this whole thing is wild! interesting how some ppl in congress dont care about ppl struggling w/ healthcare premiums 
i mean senator durbin thinks republicans dont care about premium but then republicans are all like "we aint giving u no money" 
meanwhile democrats are stuck w/ the mess they made 
without even getting a single concession on it from them. I mean, what's the point of that? It's like they're saying "we'll do whatever it takes to get along with the other party, even if it means sacrificing our values". Not cool, guys 
. And now some are calling for Schumer to resign... yeah, that's not gonna happen 
. The thing is, as long as there are people like Sen Lee who are speaking up for the working class, we might just see some changes in the future 
.
, I'm like totally baffled by what happened in Congress! They basically gave in to the Republicans and didn't fight hard enough for those ACA subsidies 
. It's all about politics, but at the end of the day, who gets hurt? The people who rely on affordable healthcare, that's who 
. And now some of their own party members are like "resign" because they're so unhappy... I feel you 
, but can't they just speak out and express their frustration instead of quitting? It's all a bit confusing 
. And now Schumer's getting called out by his own people for making a deal with the devil... yeah, good luck getting reelected, Chuck 
. On the other hand, Lindsey Graham's all like "why would I give tens of billions to insurance companies?" ... because that's just how cynical and heartless the GOP is 
.
. Meanwhile, Sen Lindsey Graham's stance on this is just straight-up baffling 
. It's gonna be tough for Schumer and his crew to explain why they sacrificed their values for the 2026 hopefuls 
. On a lighter note, did you know that the 2018 gov shutdown cost the US economy around $12 billion? That's like, what Sen Lee said about working-class families getting screwed 
... dems were supposed to fight for those subsidies, but instead they just kinda gave in 
... and now republicans are gonna take 'em away again? ugh 
... what's the point of even having gov if they can't protect their own ppl? 
... and reps like lindsey graham, who cares about those tens of billions anyway? 
. I feel like they're more worried about saving face than actually helping those who need it most