The US Senate approves ending the government shutdown amid a rift among Democrats

WashingtonWith over 2,700 flights canceled in the country and the US government shutdown nearing its fortieth day, the deadlock in the Senate has been broken. This Monday (Tuesday in Catalonia), the upper house approved the bill to end the government's bankruptcy proceedings. longest in historyThanks to the support of eight Democrats who voted with the Republicans, the agreement, announced on Sunday, resulted in a 60-40 vote in favor. For nearly a month and a half, the lack of a budget agreement has left thousands of federal employees without pay, frozen food aid for more than 40 million Americans, and sown chaos at airports across the country. However, the beginning of the end of this episode has also reopened divisions within the party, plunging Democrats into a new internal conflict. In total, eight Democratic senators ceded their votes to the Republicans to reach the supermajority needed to break the budget deadlock, contradicting the directive of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. The legislators' insubordination represents another blow to one of the faces of the Democratic Party establishment, which in recent days has seen its influence within the party crumble following the victory of socialist Zohran Mamdani in the New York elections.

The meteoric rise of the city's new mayor has sent a very clear message about the need for a new generational shift at the head of the party. Former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi—one of the most influential voices within the party—already grasped the message and He announced that at 85 years old he would no longer seek re-election to his seatSome voices from the progressive wing of the party are now also calling for Schumer, 74, to step aside following the failed government stalemate strategy and allow Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – aligned with Mamdani and Bernie Sanders – to run for his Senate seat.

Following the passage in June of the tax law—known as the Big, Beautiful Bill—which cut numerous healthcare subsidies for Americans, Democrats decided to pressure the Trump administration through a budget shutdown to agree to extend Obamacare subsidies that were set to expire at the end of the year. It was also a way to try to establish their profile and position themselves as the protectors of the healthcare system. For forty days, it was a constant power struggle between Trump and the Democrats to establish the narrative about who was responsible for the government shutdown. With the concession of the eight legislators, the Republican version ultimately prevailed, blaming the Democrats for all the problems, despite it being their senators who refused to include a budget allocation that would guarantee an extension of Obamacare benefits.

The latest proposal presented by the Republicans has convinced the last three remaining Democratic senators, Angus King (Maine), Jeanne Saheen, and Maggie Hassann (New Hampshire), to provide the 60 votes needed to extend government funding until January 30. However, this is only the first step toward ending the debt default. The agreement must now go through further voting processes in the Senate and finally be approved by the House of Representatives. The outcome in the lower house remains to be seen, given the open conflict within the Democratic Party in recent hours.

Breakdown of party discipline

The preliminary agreement was able to move forward because these three senators broke party discipline. King justified his decision to end the government shutdown by citing the suffering the situation was causing thousands of citizens, and emphasized that the group secured a commitment from Republicans to hold a vote on whether to expand the subsidies included in the healthcare subsidy program known as Obamacare.

The agreed-upon budget leaves out the Democrats' major demand. which led to the government shutdown: to prevent the expiration at the end of the year of the health subsidies agreed upon during the pandemic as part of Obamacare. Sunday's agreement only includes a commitment from Republicans that there will be a concrete vote in Congress on the issue. However, this concession is practically meaningless: given that Republicans hold a majority in both houses of Congress, it is highly unlikely that the Democrats' aspiration to extend the payments under this program will succeed.

The only concession that Democrats appear to have managed to wrest from Republicans is a provision committing to the reinstatement of federal employees laid off during the shutdown and guaranteeing that there will be no further mass layoffs until the end of January. It also eliminates the threat made by Donald Trump that federal employees would not receive back pay for the wages they missed during these 40 days.