Yet just enough voted with Republicans for the measure, a short-term funding extension, to clear the Senate’s filibuster.
**Senate Takes First Step to Reopen Government, Fueling Democratic Split**
Notably, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), the minority whip, joined a list that is otherwise made up of rank-and-file members. He and Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), another “yes” vote, are retiring in 2026, making their decision less politically difficult. The remaining six are not up for reelection next year and, for the most part, come from swing states like Nevada, New Hampshire, and Pennsylvania.
One of them, Sen. Angus King (ME), is an independent who caucuses with the Democrats. The full list is as follows: Durbin, John Fetterman (D-PA), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Tim Kaine (D-VA), King, Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Shaheen.
The vote was simply a procedural step, and it could take days for final passage. The bill must also pass the House before President Donald Trump can sign it into law. The vote nonetheless marks a breakthrough that signals the end of what so far has been a 40-day shutdown.
Republicans had come to count on the votes of Cortez Masto, Fetterman, and King, who were willing to vote for the GOP’s funding bill without the healthcare concessions demanded by the rest of the Democratic caucus. The other five came around on Sunday, when Republicans granted them a new concession: in exchange for their votes, the White House would reverse the layoffs it announced after funding lapsed.
The provision was particularly important to Kaine, who represents hundreds of thousands of federal workers in Virginia.
Weighing into the calculus, Republicans also agreed to pass three full-year spending bills alongside the short-term measure, which would fund the government through January. Several senators involved in bipartisan talks wanted to see spending negotiations get back underway, and Durbin and Shaheen are both senior appropriators.
**Where Every Senate Republican Stands on Trump’s Call to End the Filibuster**
There was also a prevailing sense among the bloc that Democrats were unlikely to get a better deal. Republicans refused to negotiate premium Obamacare subsidies at the heart of their healthcare demands but were willing to grant a December vote on the subsidies.
“This was the only deal on the table,” Shaheen told reporters in a Sunday night press conference.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/senate/3880701/senate-democrats-voted-republicans-reopen-government/