Analysis Result

The eight critical votes that advanced a short-term spending package on Sunday evening and put the government on the path to re-opening also tore the seams of Democratic Party unity, bringing scrutiny to its shutdown strategy and leadership. One of the eight said that the plan Democrats had rallied around at its outset had crumbled. "After six weeks — going on seven weeks — that path wasn’t working," Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, said. "It wasn’t going to happen. The question was: Does the shutdown further the goal of achieving some needed support for the extension of the tax credits? Our judgment was that it will not produce that result." "The evidence for that is almost seven weeks of fruitless attempts to make that happen. Would it change in a week? Or another week? Or after Thanksgiving? There’s no evidence that it would." SHUTDOWN IGNITES STRATEGIST DEBATE: WILL TRUMP AND GOP PAY THE POLITICAL PRICE IN 2026? Angus King speaks at a press conference Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, speaks at a press conference with other Senate Democrats who voted to restore government funding in Washington, Nov. 9, 2025. (Nathan Posner/Getty Images) To other Democrats, it’s the party’s top figures who led a losing effort. "Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced. If you can’t lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?" Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif, said in a post on social media on Sunday. The government first plunged into a shutdown 40 days ago on Oct. 1 when Democrats rejected a short-term spending bill advanced by Republicans in the House meant to keep the government afloat until Nov. 21. Democrats had demanded that lawmakers first consider expiring COVID-era Obamacare subsidies set to phase out at the end of the year. Republicans, who saw spending and the tax credits as completely unrelated, refused to negotiate on the tax credits during the shutdown. Ultimately, Republicans avoided any substantive concessions on the Obamacare credits. The package advanced by the Senate on Sunday looks to reopen the government through Jan. 30, 2026, and also includes a bundle of three yearlong spending bills to fund Veterans Affairs, the country’s agriculture expenses and the legislative branch.