Copyright The Philadelphia Inquirer
Sen. John Fetterman called the shutdown a “failure” after voting to reopen the government. The Pennsylvania Democrat described himself as “a consistent voice” against the shutdown. The shutdown has been longer than any in history. But on Sunday night, the Senate advanced a bill that had been previously passed by the House to fund the federal government through the end of January. Fetterman was one of three Democratic caucus members who voted to reopen the shutdown from the start of the shutdown as the vast majority of his Democratic colleagues fought to negotiate health care subsidies in the stopgap bill. On Sunday, he was joined by seven Democrat colleagues who voted for the Republican bill, which passed 60 to 40 — meeting the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, which had eluded lawmakers for weeks. “I’m sorry to our military, SNAP recipients, gov workers, and Capitol Police who haven’t been paid in weeks,” Fetterman said in a post on X. “It should’ve never come to this.” “This was a failure,” he added. Fetterman said in an interview with the Inquirer last month and said he would support a Republican plan to override the Senate filibuster asa means to reopen the government. In his own post on X, Sen. Dave McCormick, a Pennsylvania Republican, also emphasized his support for opening the government. “America’s working families deserve better than government shutdowns,” he said. “I have stood firm at every opportunity to keep our government open and serving the people.” He said the senators who supported the stopgap bill “put country over politics and did what’s right for America.” Most congressional Democrats did not support the stopgap bill. Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, in a statement Sunday night said the bill “doesn’t meet the urgency of this moment and deliver actual relief the can pass both chambers of Congress.” He blamed President Donald Trump and other Republican leaders for creating a health care crisis “by withholding food assistance for millions for their own political gain.” “I’ve been clear that we need real action to stop the devastating healthcare cost increases that are hurting millions of families,” he said. “This fight isn’t over, and I’m going to continue to stand with so many who are being hurt,” he added. New Jersey Governor-elect Mikie Sherrill, who represents a North Jersey House district, also released a statement Sunday night opposing the bill. She said her gubernatorial win showed that voters “want leadership with a backbone.” She said that Senators were caving “at a critical moment when they need leaders to stay strong under pressure.” “Make no mistake, if this deal passes, it will lead to New Jerseyans paying far more for their healthcare, when they are already paying more and more for everything,” she said. “Making this deal is malpractice — we have more than 9 million people in New Jersey who are counting on us to fight for them, and instead Washington is putting them in harm’s way."
