Copyright Mechanicsburg Patriot News
WASHINGTON — Nearly six weeks into being one of the only Democrats to side with Republicans to end the government shutdown, Sen. John Fetterman saw seven of his colleagues move to his side on Sunday night in a vote that still deeply divided his party but that put the end of the shutdown closer than ever. Pennsylvania’s senior senator — alongside Republican Sen. Dave McCormick — were among the lawmakers who voted to advance a deal struck by the Republicans and a group of moderate Democrats during a round of rare weekend negotiations. The deal does not include a guaranteed extension of the health care subsidies that ignited the shutdown, inviting fierce resistance from Senate Democratic leadership and some of Pennsylvania’s U.S. House delegation. “Capitulating is unacceptable,” Rep. Summer Lee, a Democrat who represents the Pittsburgh area, said on social media as the details of the deal came into focus. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he would bring up the Affordable Care Act subsidies for a vote in December. That stopped short of Democrats’ demands throughout the shutdown that any deal include an explicit extension of the subsidies. Lee echoed others on Sunday night who said they didn’t believe Republicans would actually vote to approve the extension when they have that eventual vote. “If Republicans wanted to vote to extend subsidies, they would’ve done it already,” Lee said. Former U.S. Rep. Conor Lamb, who represented Beaver and parts of Allegheny counties before losing the 2022 U.S. Senate primary to Mr. Fetterman, railed against the decision in a video he posted Sunday night. A Fetterman critic who some believe could run against him again in 2028, Lamb called on the public to contact their representatives about the “sad” deal. “What is in it that’s so great? I’m a former member of Congress and a lawyer, and I’ve been looking at it all evening and I can’t tell what the Democrats are achieving,” Lamb said. Fetterman, unwavering in his position that it’s never acceptable to shut down the government as a negotiation tactic, called the situation “a failure” in a post after his vote Sunday night. The deal was set to pass with the minimum required 60 votes, making Mr. Fetterman’s and the other seven Democrats’ votes essential. “It should’ve never come to this,” he said while also apologizing to SNAP recipients who’ve gone without food assistance and government workers who’ve gone without pay during the shutdown. House members will likely be required to return to Washington for the first time in nearly two months in order to vote on the final appropriations package, if it clears the Senate after Sunday night’s procedural vote. Initial reactions from many Democrats indicated they’ll continue to push for a different solution. “Americans are facing a healthcare crisis NOW and this Senate deal does nothing to fix that. It’s a bad deal and I cannot support it,” Rep. Mary Gay Scanlon, D- Delaware County, said on social media. “I am a HELL NO on any so-called agreement with Senate GOP leadership that is nothing more than a ‘pinky swear’ they will allow a future vote on the ACA,” said Rep. Brendan Boyle, D- Philadelphia.
