WA Democrats in Congress blast colleagues for reopening vote: ‘Senate surrender’
Washington state’s U.S. Senators are outraged after eight Democrats in the U.S. Senate backed a Republican short-term funding measure Sunday night to end the shutdown and reopen the government.
U.S. Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell issued statements following the vote in which eight of their party colleagues broke with the Dems’ shutdown-fight to try to preserve expiring health subsidies.
The Senate’s 60-40 test vote is a step toward funding the government, with a promise to hold a vote in the future to extend the tax credits.
Murray issued a statement saying that as long as there’s time to combat the “MAGA health care hike,” Democratic lawmakers must push for negotiations on Affordable Care Act enhanced premium tax credits.
Speaking Monday on the Senate floor, Murray said she’s outraged that Republicans aren’t working to prevent health-care premiums from skyrocketing.
“And I voted no on last night’s vote because I believe we do need to address health care costs before we move forward,” she said. “There is simply no time left to kick the can down the road when it comes to saving the ACA tax credits.”
Cantwell voted against Sunday’s procedural vote to further the reopening proposal. While she said she’d work with those who want to chart a path forward, she also said “this isn’t it.”
Democrats have been sounding the alarm that health-care premiums for millions of Americans are set to more than double. Yet Republicans, who control both congressional chambers but required Democratic support to end the shutdown, have argued that any health-care talks should only happen after the shutdown has ended.
At more than 40 days, the government shutdown is the longest in the country’s history. It could end as soon as the end of this week.
Now some upset House members also are taking aim at the eight defecting Democratic Senators: Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada; Tim Kaine of Virginia; Dick Durbin of Illinois; Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire; and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania. Sen. Angus King of Maine also voted with the GOP, but he is an independent who caucuses with the Democrats.
U.S. Rep. Marilyn Strickland, the Washington Democrat that represents parts of Thurston and Pierce counties, came out swinging against the “Senate surrender” in her own statement. She noted that Republicans control the White House and Congress, but they’ve never had the needed votes to again get the government running.
Strickland said the eight upper-chamber counterparts “lost their nerve,” going along with Republicans “in exchange for a half-assed promise” on a future health-care vote.
“I do not trust President Trump. I do not trust Leader Thune. I do not trust Speaker Johnson,” she said. “I’ve also lost faith in Senate Democrats who cannot see that they are being played. I will vote NO on the Republican ripoff and call on my Senate colleagues to stand up for the American people.”
Republican U.S. Rep. Michael Baumgartner of Washington, meanwhile, marked Sunday’s news with a post on X (formerly Twitter).
“The Democrat’s decision to shutdown the government was a monumental waste of time that hurt a lot of people,” he wrote. “I’m glad that it will soon be over.”
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