John Fetterman Defends Deal With Republicans To End Shutdown Despite Criticism From Fellow Dems: 'Country Over Party'

Sen. John Fetterman defended his decision to reach a deal with Republicans to end the government shutdown, saying that he is putting "country over party."

"Feed everyone. Pay our military, government workers, and Capitol Police. End the chaos in airports," Fetterman added in a social media publication along with fellow Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick, who also supported the agreement.

The agreement was passed on a 60-40 vote on Sunday night. However, it still has to clear the House of Representatives, something that could take days, according to NBC News. Then President Donald Trump would have to sign it into law.

The outlet added that the agreement contains a "minibus" and a continuing resolution to fund the rest of the government at existing spending levels through the end of January. The agreement would also fund SNAP through next September and reverses the attempted layoff of federal workers.

However, the deal does not include an extension of expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, a major concession from Democrats to end the shutdown. Should the funds lapse, insurance premiums for millions of people would raise. Democrats settled for a promise that a bill on the matter by the second week of December. Its outcome is already uncertain, with House Speaker Mike Johnson saying he wouldn't promise the vote will take place

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer rejected the deal, saying: "Because of Republicans, Americans are going to suffer immensely as this health care crisis gets worse." "Therefore, I must vote no," he added.

Axios also reported that Schumer privately tried to get moderate Democrats not to reach the agreement with Republicans, even if many others are blaming him for not getting the party to stay united. The outlet noted that two weeks into the shutdown a group told him they were ready to reach an agreement, but Schumer convinced them to wait at least until the beginning of November.

Another Democrat, Sen. Chris Murphy, warned his colleagues they were making a mistake: "This bill doesn't do anything to arrest the health care catastrophe, nor does it constrain in any meaningful way President Trump's illegality," he said.

Sen. Ruben Gallego criticized his colleagues as well. "I will not turn my back on the 24 million Americans who will see their premiums more than double if we don't extend these tax credits," Gallego said, according to another NBC News report.

Originally published on Latin Times

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Democrats, Republicans, Senate