Eight Senate Democrats break ranks with party leadership to end historic government shutdown

Eight Senate Democrats broke with their party leaders to vote in favor of a House-passed continuing resolution Sunday night, taking a major step toward ending the government shutdown.

The House bill funds military construction, the Department of Agriculture and the legislative branch through September 30, 2026, and the rest of the government through Jan. 30. The final tally for the Senate vote was 60-40, the minimum threshold for passing such a bill.

Here are the Democrats who allowed it to happen.

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Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., has proven to be one of the Democrats most willing to stand against his party since joining the Senate in 2023.

While Fetterman stayed in line with Democratic leadership throughout the shutdown, he had argued for weeks that the party didn't have the leverage to force Republicans to make changes.

"After 40 days as a consistent voice against shutting our government down, I voted YES for the 15th time to REOPEN. I'm sorry to our military, SNAP recipients, gov workers, and Capitol Police who haven't been paid in weeks. It should've never come to this," Fetterman said in a statement.

"This was a failure," he added.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., consistently voted with Republicans to reopen the government throughout the 40-day shutdown.

"I have consistently voted against shutting down the government because I know the pain it is causing working families, from TSA agents to government contractors. We must extend the ACA enhanced premium tax credits, but that can't come at the expense of the millions of Americans across our country impacted by a shutdown," she wrote in a Sunday statement.

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"With the government open, we can focus on passing a full, bipartisan budget for 2026. That starts with a minibus that will restore funding President Trump cut, deliver millions of dollars in critical funding to Nevada, and block the Administration from future RIFs," she added.

Unlike her colleague from Nevada, Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., had opposed Republican efforts to reopen the government throughout the past few weeks.

Rosen now argues that Senate Majority Leader John Thune's promise to vote on the Affordable Care Act extensions in December is a major concession.

"The concession we've been able to extract to get closer to extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits is a vote on a bill drafted and negotiated by Senate Democrats. Let me be clear: I will keep fighting like hell to ensure we force Republicans to get this done," she said in a Sunday statement.

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Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., serves as the Senate whip for Democrats and was among the most significant defections Sunday night.

Durbin also pointed to concessions Republicans made in the latest version of the bill.

"Today's bill is not the same one we've voted down 14 times. Republicans finally woke up and realized their Groundhog Day needed to end. This bill is not perfect, but it takes important steps to reduce their shutdown's hurt. Not only would it fully fund SNAP for the year ahead, but it would reverse the mass firings the Trump Administration ordered throughout the shutdown," he wrote Sunday.

"Now that Democrats secured these wins, it's time for Leader Thune to keep his promise to schedule a vote on the ACA tax credits in December and we will see to it that he makes good on his word for the millions of Americans worried they won't be able to afford health care in January," he added.

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., was a key player along with King in negotiating an end to the shutdown, working to assemble Democrats who would accept certain concessions from the GOP.

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She argued that Republicans have proven that they are unwilling to participate in healthcare negotiations as part of a government shutdown, leading to only more pain for Americans if Democrats press the issue.

"With the government reopened, it's time to move quickly to ensure we keep health care premiums from skyrocketing," Shaheen said. "President Trump, Leader Thune and Speaker Johnson have all said they are willing to find a way of extending these tax credits. We are ready to negotiate immediately."

Hassan also worked closely with her colleague from New Hampshire to secure an end to the shutdown.

"A record-long government shutdown paired with record-high health insurance cost increases is not the kind of history that the American people want Congress to make," Hassan said in a statement.

"Congress has one month to engage in serious, bipartisan negotiations to extend the Affordable Care Act's expiring tax cuts for health insurance. My Democratic colleagues and I have been ready to work on this for months. With the government reopening shortly, Senate Republicans must finally come to the table--or, make no mistake, Americans will remember who stood in the way," she added.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., has been hyper-focused on the Trump administration's firings throughout the shutdown, thanks in large part to him representing hundreds of thousands of federal commuters who live in northern Virginia.

He played a key role in placing language into Sunday's bill that prevents Trump from pursuing further reductions in force (RIFs) through Jan. 30.

"This legislation will protect federal workers from baseless firings, reinstate those who have been wrongfully terminated during the shutdown, and ensure federal workers receive back pay, as required by a law I got passed in 2019," he told constituents. "That's a critical step that will help federal employees and all Americans who rely on government services."

Sen. Angus King, I-Me., who caucuses with Democrats, supported the party's efforts to secure extensions for health insurance premiums, but he also warned that the shutdown was giving President Donald Trump too much authority.

"Today I again voted to re-open the government, resume vital services for Maine people, put people back to work, feed the hungry and secure an opportunity to avoid a harmful hike in health care costs," King said on Sunday.

"It's become clear after six weeks of the shutdown that the strategy of shutting down the government and forcing the Republicans to talk about the ACA wasn't working," he added in a video to constituents.

"The shutdown wasn't achieving its goal, and at the same time it was hurting a lot of people," he continued.