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Alabama U.S. Sen. Katie Britt played a pivotal role in the negotiations that led to the Senate taking the necessary vote to end the record-long government shutdown, according to top lawmakers in both parties, Politico and Punchbowl News reported. Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota called Britt a “rock star” for helping resolve one of the thorniest issues in the funding talks, setting the stage to reopen the government. A report in Politico noted Britt and Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) were part of a “core group of negotiators.” The Senate approved a resolution Monday to end the shutdown by a 60-40 vote, the minimum needed to overcome the filibuster that has led to the standoff. The legislation to restore funding to the government through Jan. 30 moves to the House, which could pass it and send it to President Trump, who supports it. Reports said Britt and Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., talked through the weekend about how to get the bill passed and that Britt served as a “key emissary between the various negotiators and the White House.” Kaine, a key vote in favor of the resolution, who represents 320,000 federal employees, needed the resolution to ensure not only the rehiring of workers laid off during the shutdown, but a ban on future layoffs, known as reductions-in-force (RIFs). The White House initially rejected this but eventually agreed. The reason why, Kaine told Punchbowl News, was Britt. “I said, ‘Thank you for helping convince the White House on the RIFs,’” Kaine said of his handshake with Britt. “They really did not want to do it… And I said, ‘I’m a no if you don’t do that.’” “When I explained it to her, she said that’s a reasonable ask. But the White House didn’t want to do it,” Kaine added. “And she was the go-between on that.” Britt said she communicated directly with Vice President JD Vance as the talks went on. Vance and Britt were both sworn in as freshmen senators in 2023. Britt said Vance told her “whatever you need, just let me know.” “After more than 40 days—marking the longest shutdown in American history—the undue suffering of the American people will soon come to an end,“ Britt said in a statement released by her office Monday night. The shutdown threatened hardships nationally and especially in Alabama, including to the families of about 750,000 people in the state who depend on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and the businesses where they buy food. “I’m deeply proud to have voted over 15 times to keep the government open and working for Alabamians and the American people. I’m also grateful for my Senate Republican colleagues, and colleagues across the aisle, who worked diligently to bring this shutdown to an end,” Britt said. “I am honored to have played a role in the negotiations that led us to this point, and I look forward to continuing to work to put people over politics and make our government function again.”
