Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., on Monday urged fellow Democrats who have criticized the deal that she and seven colleagues struck to end the government shutdown to “train their fire” toward those she says are responsible for blocking renewed healthcare subsidies: Republicans.
Shaheen made the remarks in a CNN interview amid mounting backlash from fellow Democrats after she broke ranks to support a deal to end the shutdown — an agreement that included only a promise of a future vote on extending premium tax credits under the Affordable Care Act.
That deal had been on the table since the outset of the shutdown. Senate Democrats summarily dismissed it at the time, saying they didn’t just want a vote — they wanted it to pass — and were willing to keep the government shut down until Republicans gave in.
They didn’t.
“All those [Democrats] who oppose this agreement, staying in shutdown mode was not getting us anywhere,” Shaheen said. “And they need to train their fire on the people who are responsible.
“That’s President Donald Trump, [House] Speaker [Mike] Johnson, and it’s Republicans who have blocked every attempt to get healthcare.”
Johnson told Newsmax at the outset of the shutdown that the subsidies were not the “issue of today,” noting they don’t expire until Dec. 31.
Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said they were willing to have those negotiations — after Democrats reopened the government.
Democrats are back at square one after waiting 40 days for something they didn’t get. Shaheen is hopeful that with the votes to reopen government, Republicans are “willing to come to the table” to negotiate the subsidies.
“Because of this shutdown fight, we’ve had a number of Republicans who have figured out that this is an issue for them,” she said. “This is not a red state issue or a blue state issue, it’s about making sure that people can afford their health insurance.”
After 40 days of stalemate, Shaheen — along with Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.; Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.; and Tim Kaine, D-Va. — joined John Fetterman, D-Pa.; Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; and Angus King, I-Maine, to move the legislation forward.
Fetterman, Masto, and King, who caucuses with Democrats, had voted all along to support the continuing resolution passed by House Republicans.
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