Democratic lawmakers reel after Senate votes to reopen government: ‘Republican-made health care crisis’

The Senate struck a late-Sunday deal to begin the path to reopening the government after eight Democrats joined Republicans to reach 60 votes, sparking backlash from those who opposed the spending bill.

Democratic leaders voiced intense opposition, arguing that the continuing resolution fails to address the nation’s worsening health care challenges. Several prominent lawmakers spoke out immediately following the vote, framing it as a test of priorities and moral leadership.

Rep. Ro Khanna, R-Calif., said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D–N.Y., “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?” Khanna asked.

Schumer voted no on the procedural vote.

“America is in the midst of a Republican-made health care crisis — a crisis so severe, so urgent, and so devastating for American families that I cannot support a continuing resolution that fails to address it,” Schumer said.

SENATE DEMOCRATS CAVE, OPEN PATH TO REOPENING GOVERNMENT

Schumer said that Democrats have continually pushed for meaningful reforms to the health care system.

“For months and months, Democrats have been fighting to get the Senate to address the health care crisis,” he said. “This bill does nothing to ensure that the crisis is addressed. I am voting no, and I will keep fighting for months and months.”

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I–Vt., delivered a forceful rebuke, criticizing both Republicans and the eight Democrats who joined them in supporting the resolution.

“Tonight, eight Democrats voted with the Republicans to allow them to go forward on this continuing resolution. And to my mind, this was a very, very bad vote,” Sanders said. “What it does, first of all, is it raises healthcare premiums for over 20 million Americans by doubling, and in some cases tripling or quadrupling. People can’t afford that when we are already paying the highest prices in the world for healthcare.”

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He went on to warn of the broader consequences of the legislation.

“It paves the way for 15 million people to be thrown off of Medicaid. While care act studies show that will mean some 50,000 Americans will die every year unnecessarily. And all of that was done to give a trillion dollars in tax breaks to the 1%.”

Sanders links the vote to broader political trends and said it ignores the message voters have sent in recent elections.

“As everybody knows, just on Tuesday, we had an election all over this country, and what the election showed is that the American people wanted us to stand up to Trumpism — to his war against working-class people, to his authoritarianism,” Sanders said. “That is what the American people wanted. But tonight, that is not what happened.”

Despite his disappointment, Sanders vowed to continue pushing for expanded access to health care.

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Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., also spoke out following the vote, sharing a video message on X alongside a seething assessment of the funding bill’s failure to address healthcare costs.

“Millions of Californians are at risk of losing their insurance or facing dramatically higher health care costs. Tonight’s vote does NOTHING to address this Republican health care crisis,” Schiff said.

In the video, Schiff recounts his “no” vote, calling the moment symbolic of the bleak outlook for health care reform under the current bill.

“So, I just voted no on the Republican funding bill. I am outside the Capitol. It’s dark and raining, and that seems all too appropriate for this moment because that funding bill has nothing in it to help people afford their health insurance. That bill has nothing in it that’s going to bring costs down. That bill has nothing in it that’s going to make sure that people with pre-existing conditions can afford their health insurance,” Schiff said, in part.

He continued: “We owe our constituents better than this. We owe a resolution that makes it possible for them to afford their health care. [The] system [is] already badly broken enough. This just prevented it from getting worse.”

Schiff also joined Schumer in describing the shutdown and the vote on Sunday as a “Republican health care crisis.”

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Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., posted a late-night video from his office, expressing deep frustration over the outcome and warning that the vote could embolden President Donald Trump.

His caption read: “I got back to my office after the vote tonight and recorded this. There’s no way to sugarcoat what happened tonight. And my fear is that Trump gets stronger, not weaker, because of this acquiescence. I’m angry — like you. But I choose to keep fighting.”

Murphy also reflected on the vote’s implications for both democracy and health care, saying Democrats must continue to stand firm despite the political cost.

“The American people do not want Democrats to be bullied into submission. They want Democrats to fight for their healthcare. They want Democrats to fight Trump’s illegality,” the senator said, in part.

“I didn’t want this shutdown. I want it to end — but not at any cost. This shutdown hurt, it did — but unfortunately, I don’t think there is a way to save this country, to save our democracy, without there being some difficult, hard moments along the way.

…I’m angry about it. And I’m just gonna get up tomorrow and go to work to try to convince all of my colleagues that this is a unique moment — and the necessity to stand and fight, even when it’s hard, even when it involves pain, is necessary.”