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Senate Advances Deal to Reopen Government. Aired 12-1a ET
Aired November 10, 2025 - 00:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
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POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Polo Sandoval, live in New York. Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM.
Americans feeling the pain of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, they may soon breathe a sigh of relief. The Senate advancing a deal to end the shutdown.
Just a short while ago, they voted to break a Democratic filibuster on government funding legislation. Senators will be taking up the measure when they reconvene on Monday morning in Washington. If it advances, it will still have to go to the House for a vote before it eventually heads to the U.S. president's desk.
A group of Democrats and one Democratic-aligned independent agreed to reopen the government in exchange for a future vote on extending Obamacare subsidies.
Here's a breakdown of the deal. The measure extending government funding through the end of January. It also reverses President Trump's mass firings of federal workers during the shutdown, and it would also ensure Food Stamps are funded through fiscal year 2026.
Some Democrats are slamming the deal, especially those who did not support it, including Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): This fight will and must continue. Democrats must fight because of millions of millions of families will lose healthcare coverage. We must fight, because children who are dying of cancer will not get healthcare coverage. We must fight, because a senior citizen cannot afford to pay $25,000 a year just for health insurance. We must fight to keep millions from financial ruin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: CNN's Manu Raju, first to break the developments on this bipartisan agreement. He's got the latest from Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The longest government shutdown in American history now is coming to an end --
RAJU (voice-over): -- to the relief of so many Americans who have been hurt in different ways by this very damaging standoff of 40 days.
It could take another couple of days before it finally becomes law. But a bipartisan deal led to a breakthrough that now will end this bitter impasse.
Now remember, this all started after Democrats insisted that healthcare premiums must be addressed in any sort of negotiation to reopen the government. And they have leverage. The United States Senate, it requires 60 votes to -- to pass any piece of legislation.
And there are 53 Republicans, 47 Democrats. One Republican --
RAJU: -- consistently voted against it, meaning eight Democrats was the magic number to get to.
And for 14 times, Democrats blocked a Republican Bill to reopen the government, because they wanted an extension --
RAJU (voice-over): -- of expiring subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Because millions of Americans rely on those. And they say that their healthcare premiums will skyrocket without a plan to extend those.
Republicans were opposed to that plan and did not want to negotiate at all with them over this issue until the government was reopened.
Ultimately, there were some negotiations that happened in the rank- and-file, and that led to a deal on Sunday evening. As part of that deal, the government would reopen up until January 30th.
Also, it would prevent Trump administration officials from firing -- doing mass firings of federal employees; would allow some federal employees who were fired in the past to get their jobs back.
But it does not include language to extend those subsidies under the Affordable Care Act. Instead, those ACA -- that ACA issue will be dealt with later as a separate vote.
Democrats want an assurance from the Senate Republican leader, John Thune, to schedule a vote by the second week of December on an ACA- specific Bill, an Affordable Care Act specific Bill.
RAJU: But there is no guarantee that that will become law. In fact, it is almost certain not to become law. It probably won't pass the Senate, much less the Republican-led House, or get signed into law by Donald Trump.
So, a lot of Democrats are upset with their colleagues for cutting this deal, including Hakeem Jeffries, House Democratic leader, who plans to fight this in the House. The Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, also opposes this plan, as well as senator Brian Schatz, who is poised to be the next second ranking Democrat in the next Congress.
But there were enough Democrats -- appropriators, some retiring senators and the like --
RAJU: -- who decided it was time to reopen the government. And they believe that they fought hard enough, and it was time to move on. And this is the best deal they were going to get, as so many Americans were facing --
RAJU (voice-over): -- the prospects of Food Stamps drying up. Already facing that happening.
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And now this deal would extend Food Stamp benefits through part of 2026. So, some relief there for people who need that.
And also, relief for so many federal employees, hundreds of thousands, who are without paychecks, have been furloughed, but now can go back to work once this eventually becomes law.
The House does need to come back into session and finally pass this Bill. They have been out of session since September 19th amid this crisis. But they will finally be coming back to work in the Capitol, giving a green light to this issue after Democrats, some of them --
RAJU: -- relented, cut a deal, and now the government could reopen in just a matter of days.
Manu Raju, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: Eight members of the Senate Democratic caucus broke ranks with the rest of their party, voting with Republicans to vote the deal -- vote on the deal to reopen the federal government.
And despite criticism from top Democratic leadership, they defended their choice to pretty much get things moving again.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEN. ANGUS KING (I-ME): So, this agreement tonight is a -- is a win for the American people. And it's a win for those people that are so insistent that I'm hearing from all the time protect our health care.
Our judgment is the best way to do that is to get a Bill on the floor. Is there a guarantee it will pass? No. Is it a guarantee it will pass in the House? There is actually some very strong interest in the House, a possibility of a bipartisan Bill and to get a discharge petition. And then, perhaps, were on the way.
And we have that expression from Republican senators who are interested in working on a Bill that will deal with the ACA issue and perhaps additional healthcare issues at the same time. So, what happened tonight is not the closing of a chapter. It's the
opening of an opportunity. What -- the chapter it does close is the damaging shutdown that is only getting worse, that is only going to impact more and more people.
And it's an opportunity for us to move forward on behalf of all the people of this country on the issue of health care, but also on making the federal government function.
SEN. JEANNE SHAHEEN (D-NH): Now, I understand that not all of my Democratic colleagues are satisfied with this agreement, but waiting another week or another month wouldn't deliver a better outcome. It would only mean more harm for families in New Hampshire and all across the country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SANDOVAL: You just heard from some of the voices who crossed party lines tonight. Let's digest it all and go through it with CNN's senior political analyst Ron Brownstein, who joins us from Los Angeles.
Ron, it's great to have you with us again.
RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Thanks for having me.
SANDOVAL: So, we just heard right now from Senator Angus King. One more thing that I took note of when I was listening to his remarks. He said, "I believe we're closer to an ACA vote than they were this morning."
Do you think that some of the senator's constituents would agree?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes, you know, as we'll discuss in a minute. I mean, there are lots of reasons to end the shutdown, and it's not unique that Democrats didn't get what they wanted. But that speech was kind of delusional.
I mean, as Manu said, there is essentially no chance that Senate, much less House Republicans, are going to vote to extend these ACA subsidies. They are going to end at the end of this year.
You know, there may be political consequences for that for Republicans, right? I mean, the -- extending the subsidies is very popular. And as we talked about before, 60 percent of the people who get the subsidy -- subsidies live in Republican-controlled congressional districts. It's -- they're most heavily used in red states in the South that refused to expand Medicaid.
But this is essentially a capitulation. I mean, there is -- there is no prospect, I think, out of this agreement of Democrats getting fundamentally what they wanted in terms of an extension of the ACA subsidies.
As I said, it's not unique to fail in a government shutdown. Republicans in '95 could not get Bill Clinton to sign their budget by shutting down the government. Ted Cruz in 2013 could not get Barack Obama to undo the Affordable
Care Act by shutting down the government.
And Donald Trump, in that weird 2018/2019 shutdown, could not get Democrats to agree to fund his wall.
But to present this as anything but, you know, kind of a throwing in the towel without getting very much in return, I think, is just misrepresenting what happened.
SANDOVAL: Ultimately, though, Democrats secured a promise, a guarantee that there would be a vote. But as you just laid out, that is certainly not --
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BROWNSTEIN: They didn't lose, yes.
SANDOVAL: -- a promise of approval. Correct.
BROWNSTEIN: Right.
SANDOVAL: So, less than a year from a midterm, Ron, what do you think the Republicans need to do, if they have already publicly told the American people that they are willing to put this up for a vote, if it means getting the government open again?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes.
SANDOVAL: So, fast forward to when that vote actually happens. I mean, what kind of compromise should we see from Republicans?
BROWNSTEIN: Well, that's the complicated part of this.
I mean, you know, the history is that shutdowns, particularly this far away from the election, have not had a huge impact on the election. Certainly, the fight over the budget in '95 allowed Clinton to turn around his presidency and win reelection.
But Republicans maintained control of the House in -- in 1996, after a very bad public reaction to their shutdown.
And again, in 2013, I mean, it was universally concluded that Republicans lost that shutdown between Cruz and Obama. And yet, they won the Senate the next year.
So, it's not clear the shutdown itself will have a huge lasting impact, although it is going to, you know, infuriate Democratic activists and partisans, just rank-and-file Democrats, I think, in the days and weeks ahead.
The twist here is that Democrats were shutting down the government to pressure Republicans into doing something that would probably benefit them in the '26 election, which is extending these subsidies.
Now, almost certainly, these subsidies are going to die. Twenty-four million people are going to get much higher premiums. Four or 5 million of them, by the CBO estimate, are going to lose coverage. That's after 10 or 11 million lost health coverage under the Medicaid cuts and the reconciliation bill that Republicans passed.
And, you know, the idea that Republicans are cutting your health care to fund tax cuts for the rich is going to be a central part of the Democratic argument in '26. And in a strange way, the resolution of this is going to give them more ammunition to make that case.
SANDOVAL: Do you think this -- this sets up, for example, the president now for a midterm year, where he will have to confront the issue of health care?
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. You know, health care -- you know, Democrats' image, as I've said and written many times, is probably -- their public image is probably -- is the weakest point it's been since the late 1980s, early 1990s, before the rise of Bill Clinton.
But one issue on which the public consistently say they trust Democrats more than Republicans is health care. And not only are Republicans, you know, on track to allow these subsidies to expire, which, again, something like 15, 16 million people, when combined with reconciliation, are going to lose healthcare coverage and another 20 million are going to see higher premiums.
You have seen in the last few days of this confrontation, the president and leading congressional Republicans suggest they want to wade back into the waters of 2017, of trying to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which did not turn out very well for them.
You know, all of these -- you know, all of these issues, I think, are out there as potential snares for Republicans.
The immediate, I think, impact, though, very clearly, is going to be to infuriate and demoralize a lot of Democrats who felt that this week's elections had established momentum for the party for the first time since Trump's victory.
And then to have this kind of rump movement of a handful of Democrats essentially say, we don't think Trump is ever going to give in and blink, basically justifying his calculation that, if he turned the screws on them through, you know, the SNAP cuts, that they would concede, he turned out to be right.
I think there are going to be a lot of really annoyed, frustrated Democrats. And it's kind of revealing that tonight already you have, you know, kind of the two, the two -- three of the four biggest winners, actually, on Tuesday night -- Mikie Sherill, Gavin Newsom, and Zohran Mamdani -- all condemn this deal.
SANDOVAL: That is certainly telling. You've given us a lot to -- to watch the next few weeks, the next few months, perhaps even the next -- the next year.
BROWNSTEIN: Yes. SANDOVAL: Ron Brownstein, thank you so much for your time, as always. Thanks for staying up late for us.
BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me. Yes.
SANDOVAL: So, as the shutdown appears to be coming to an end, people on SNAP benefits, they are potentially still in limbo. You see, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, it ordered states to stop issuing full Food Stamp benefits on Saturday. And that followed a Supreme Court ruling.
Instead, the USDA is telling states to only issue partial payments for 65 percent of what recipients are allotted. They also ordered states to undo any full payments that they had already sent out.
This latest directive, this comes as a lower court's Friday order for the federal government to fund SNAP. After that ruling, some states immediately sent out some payments. Maryland's Democratic governor, Wes Moore, saying on Sunday that there is, quote, "no clarity at all" in the guidance; that the administration is causing intentional chaos.
And the bipartisan deal in Congress is also some good news for the airline industry. According to tracking website FlightAware, thousands in the United States were delayed on Sunday, and thousands outright canceled. It was just an awful weekend in many airports.
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Severe staffing issues certainly played a role. They've plagued airlines and air traffic controllers due to some workers being forced to work without pay.
Major airlines, they have also announced a reduction in flights, though no word on when those measures will potentially end. A reminder that just because the government could be open again doesn't mean an end to the travel trouble.
We'll be right back with the very latest on the government shutdown. Still ahead, we'll also explain what lies ahead after Monday's pivotal Senate vote. Stay with us.
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SANDOVAL: Welcome back.
We want to get you back to our top story, where the U.S. Senate has now adjourned until 11 a.m. on Monday morning, just under about 11 hours from now. And that's when they are expected to begin the debate on a plan to extend government funding and unlock a path forward. Just finally, out of this record-breaking government shutdown.
Earlier, the Senate had actually voted to break a Democratic filibuster that clears the way for that debate I just mentioned to actually happen. Now, if the measure ultimately passes, it will still have to go to the
House for a vote before then heading to the desk of the U.S. president for signature.
A group of Democrats and one Democratic-aligned independent, they agreed to reopen the government in exchange for a future vote on extending Obamacare subsidies.
Senator Bernie Sanders explained why securing a vote on those benefits is so critical.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I-VT): I know, as part of this resolution, that the majority leader is going to say, well, Democrats can create, put together their own bill, and it will come to the floor here in the Senate for a vote. As everybody here knows, that is a totally meaningless gesture.
You can get 100 votes here in the Senate; won't mean anything, because the House is not going to take it up. And the president of the United States certainly will not sign it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SANDOVAL: All right, let's have a live conversation now with Democratic strategist and political scientist Caroline Heldman.
Caroline, thank you so much for joining us.
CAROLINE HELDMAN, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: My pleasure.
SANDOVAL: So, you've had a few moments now to go over the deal as it -- as we've gone over it, already, a couple of times. I mean, what's your initial reaction to what those Democrats that were able to cross party lines managed to secure? Is it a good thing?
HELDMAN: Well, I think it probably, long term, is good for the Democratic Party. I have been a little puzzled as to why the Democrats would want to bail the Trump administration out from raising healthcare premiums.
I mean, obviously, there is the humane argument, right, that you don't want people to die. You don't want people to lose their health care, live sicker lives.
But from a political perspective, this is a self-inflicted wound the Trump administration has given to itself by raising healthcare premiums.
And so, the Democrats, I think, have achieved their goal of raising awareness and really branding the Trump administration with these increasing healthcare premiums, at the same time that energy prices and grocery prices are going up.
So, I can imagine that, you know, this is really what they're going to run on in the midterm elections.
With that said, it is very clear that the longer that this government shutdown goes on, the less predictable it becomes. And the Republicans have mostly been blamed. But that gap was narrowing as it's intensifying in terms of Thanksgiving travel and SNAP benefits.
So, I think it was probably a good idea to bring it to a close, even though the Democrats didn't necessarily get what they could -- you know, they capitulated. They didn't get what they wanted.
SANDOVAL: Yes. You don't have to be a member of the Senate to -- to just imagine what this would have looked like for holiday travel, just absolutely disastrous.
Now, I also was interested in what I heard from one -- from one New Hampshire senator, saying that waiting another week would have not made a difference.
Just to your earlier point, in terms of the sense of urgency. Do you think, quite frankly, this was probably the best deal that Democrats were -- were going to get at this particular moment?
HELDMAN: They didn't seem to have any leverage. So, they will come out and claim victory and say, we did negotiate some important terms. But those important terms, basically, two things.
One is to make sure that -- that the furloughed workers would get back pay. And the second thing is the rehiring of people who were laid off during this government shutdown. So, essentially, that gets us back up at zero.
The Democrats, to be clear, did not get what they asked for going into this, which was that the Affordable Care Act premiums, those supplements, not expire at the end of the year.
But with that said, I could see these polls not only -- not only more Americans being concerned about the government shutdown. So, a week ago, it was about 1 in 5, and this week it was 1 in 3. With those Thanksgiving holidays pressing, and the SNAP benefits, and the back and forth between the federal government and states, and it looking now like SNAP beneficiaries are going to get about $0.65 on the dollar of what they're used to getting. It was going to reach a more critical period.
So, it does not surprise me that the Democrats, especially since they didn't really have much leverage, capitulated at this moment in time and will claim some sort of victory, even though they really didn't get what they wanted.
SANDOVAL: Yes. What about in the House, Caroline? Do you see any, perhaps, any potential, any pushback, perhaps, from lawmakers in the House on the Democratic side?
HELDMAN: I think we will see a lot of, like, verbal pushback, both from the Senate and the House at this point in time. They have the 60 votes in the Senate to shut down a filibuster. In the House, the Democrats don't have the votes. So, I would imagine they will be very outspoken about this.
But any -- anyone who thinks that the Democratic leadership wasn't in on this doesn't understand how politics works, right? If you look at the eight senators, the seven Democrats, one independent who voted tonight, these are all folks who are not going to be running for a while. Two of them are retiring.
So, it's pretty clear that the Democrats didn't want to risk blowing their goodwill from earlier in the week. I mean, it was a clean sweep and rebuke of the Trump administration.
And I would expect a lot of grandstanding from Democrats this week, because, you know, they have essentially won the rhetorical victory of pinning the Affordable Care Act on -- the premium raise on Republicans. And that will definitely be what they run on in the midterms. We're seeing the start of the midterms right now.
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SANDOVAL: We'll watch it together. Caroline Heldman, thank you so much for your expertise. Appreciate your time.
HELDMAN: Thank you.
SANDOVAL: Our breaking news coverage continues right here on CNN with more on the Senate vote that's moving the U.S., perhaps, one step closer to reopening the government.
You're watching CNN.
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SANDOVAL: 12:30 a.m. In Washington, D.C., where we're following some breaking news, where the U.S. Senate has broken a Democratic filibuster on government funding with a vote of 60 to 40.
A critical bloc of eight Senate Democratic centrists on Sunday, they're the ones who helped advance a funding deal in exchange for a future vote on extending healthcare subsidies. And that was pretty much a sticking point that Democrats had been fighting for, leading to the shutdown, in part.
Senate Republican leader John Thune, he committed to a vote on health care no later than the second week of December. The House must still approve the reopening deal before it then heads to President Trump to sign.
CNN's Betsy Klein has details on the deal from the White House.
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BETSY KLEIN, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we are now one major step closer to ending this government shutdown and getting the federal government reopened. And it has been 40 days of hardship --
KLEIN (voice-over): -- and uncertainty for more than 1 million federal workers, so many of whom were deemed essential and required to report to work, all this time without a paycheck.
And this vote in the Senate comes as the shutdown had reached a period of new pain, impacting more Americans over the weekend. We heard from Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who warned that air travel would be, quote, "reduced to a trickle" heading into that very busy Thanksgiving travel season.
And separately, SNAP benefits, those very critical nutrition benefits impacting about 42 million Americans. The Trump administration had ordered states to disburse partial, about 65 percent, SNAP benefits to those in need, affecting about 1 in 8 people in this country.
But the heart of the issue driving this shutdown is that Democrats --
KLEIN: -- wanted to extend those expiring Obamacare enhanced subsidies. President Trump --
KLEIN (voice-over): -- making very clear in recent days that he was vehemently opposed to doing so.
And we heard a change in tone from President Trump following Tuesday's elections, where Democrats won in very key races. The president said that Democrats, in his view, were not shouldering enough of the blame in this shutdown.
The president had also, both publicly and privately, intensified calls to end the filibuster. That is that 60-vote threshold required to pass any piece of legislation in the Senate. President Trump --
KLEIN: -- calling on senators to end that, even though there is bipartisan opposition to doing so.
But those two major pieces set the stage for this vote on Sunday evening.
And there are two very important provisions in this bill impacting federal workers. No. 1, the fired federal workers who were let go during the shutdown will be reinstated and will be given back pay.
And separately --
KLEIN (voice-over): -- there was some question from President Trump, even though he signed a law back in 2019, ensuring that those who had been furloughed would receive back pay. The president calling that into question in recent days.
KLEIN: But we have learned that this bill does require those furloughed workers to be paid at the conclusion of this shutdown.
President Trump has a series of private events on his schedule behind closed doors, meeting with the Syrian president at 11 a.m. Eastern Time.
He is also set to attend a swearing in ceremony for the U.S. ambassador to India around 3 p.m. on Monday. We will see right now -- both those events closed to press. We'll see if he takes questions and opens them up.
Betsy Klein, CNN, at the White House.
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SANDOVAL: And we are still waiting to hear from President Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, though, we do want to go to Tia Mitchell. She's a Washington bureau chief for "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution."
Tia, thank you so much for -- for joining us tonight.
TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "THE ATLANTA JOURNAL- CONSTITUTION": Thanks for having me.
SANDOVAL: So, let's tap into some of your reporting here, especially when you hear, maybe, from constituents and how they will likely react to this when they wake up tomorrow morning.
Obviously, not ignoring the fact that this is likely going to end 40 days of unpaid status for so many employees and food insecurities, do you think that constituents still will be left with questions of did Democrats go as far as they should have, perhaps?
MITCHELL: Absolutely. I think there are going to be some disappointed Democratic voters, particularly voters who just, you know, celebrated the wins Democrats had at the ballot box on election day, just about a week ago.
These are Democrats who, even though they acknowledged that the shutdown was painful, they wanted Democrats to stand firm on pushing for the healthcare issue to be addressed; not only because they are concerned about the rising cost of health care, but I think more so, they're concerned that they want to see Democrats fighting President Donald Trump; fighting, you know, to make a difference in this Republican-controlled government that we currently have.
So, I do think that is a real risk with this deal, is that there are rank-and-file Democrats who are going to be disappointed. And all the concerns about the shutdown that Republicans -- I mean, I'm sorry, that Senate Democrats are raising, you know, just the pain of the shutdown. I don't know if that's going to convince some of their base that this was the right thing to do.
SANDOVAL: And from your post here in Washington, I'm wondering what your reporting has shown about sort of the huddles that took place among those lawmakers, among those Senate Democrats that made that decision to cross party lines, eight in all?
MITCHELL: Yes. So, they've been meeting all week. And the truth of the matter is, these are the eight that were willing to go on record helping Republicans overcome the filibuster to move this along.
There are likely more than eight Senate Democrats that were ready for the shutdown to come to an end. And there are likely more than eight Senate Democrats who understand, even if they don't necessarily agree with it, they understand why the eight that voted this way did so.
[00:35:12]
Again, because the shutdown has become painful. The airline delays, particularly as we go into the busy holiday travel season, are a concern.
The fact that there are, you know, hundreds of thousands of government workers who are going on, you know, over a month not receiving pay.
The fact that there are safety net programs: Food Stamps, WIC, Head Start, the -- the heating program for -- for needy families as we enter the coldest months of the year. All those programs were drying up funding. And, you know, there were no guarantees that the Trump administration was going to find ways to -- to keep those programs afloat during a shutdown.
There was real pain that I think Senate Democrats were worried about, even beyond the eight. And that's what they've been discussing all week.
I also think we cannot ignore the fact that they did get something. They didn't get the big thing they wanted, which was to include the language, extending the Affordable Care Act subsidies. But they did get other things.
The reversal of the layoffs, the assurance that government workers that were furloughed would be paid, the assurance of a vote. You know, so maybe that will be enough.
But I do think there is evidence that they've been working behind the scenes to get something out of this.
SANDOVAL: Yes. And as you were breaking those down, we had them next to you, where you could see all those key points, including funding some of those food benefits through fiscal year 2026, especially ahead of the holidays, with so many families that were facing uncertainty, exactly how they would feed their families.
So, yes, there is certainly, perhaps, that -- that silver lining. But as you point out, there's so many important questions that people will be asking about their health care.
Do you see, in your coverage, do you see Republicans actually, perhaps realistically, willing to come to the negotiating table when it comes time to take up ACA again in December?
MITCHELL: So, I think in the Senate, there is a real possibility of a bipartisan of -- of a Bill that can get the bipartisan support needed to overcome the filibuster. Now, when it goes to the House, that's much more challenging, because
Speaker Johnson could just not put the bill onto the floor, period, not even allow it to come up for a vote.
But in my reporting, I cover Georgia. I've been talking to Marjorie Taylor Greene throughout the shutdown. You know, she represents a hard right, conservative voice who also has said repeatedly, we need to be talking about the impact of these expiring subsidies.
So, you know, that could form a really unusual alliance. If Senate Democrats are able to put a bill on the floor that could get the support of someone like Marjorie Taylor Greene, because she's been vocal that she does think something should be done.
So, if there are a few House Republicans who are willing to vote with Democrats, we could maybe see some traction. But that is a long shot, mainly because President Trump hasn't gotten behind it. And Speaker Johnson hasn't gotten behind it.
Now Trump gets engaged, that could also be a game changer. And I think that also depends on what they come up with in the Senate. But the -- the Trump factor, he's been kind of a non-factor throughout this government shutdown. Really, the only position he's taken is get rid of the filibuster to end the shutdown.
But if he becomes engaged on the healthcare subsidies, that could really impact what happens.
SANDOVAL: Yes. There is clearly an opportunity for both parties to potentially seize on and, dare I say, show a little bit more bipartisanship.
Tia Mitchell, thank you so much for your reporting. Really, absolutely fascinating the way you laid all that out, and especially for the voters in the crucial state of Georgia. Thank you.
MITCHELL: Thank you.
SANDOVAL: We're going to have much more on the breaking news that's coming out of Washington as the longest government shutdown in U.S. history could soon be coming to an end. More after the break.
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SANDOVAL: And we are bringing you some breaking news from Washington, where a critical bloc of eight Senate Democratic centrists helped advance a funding deal to reopen the government in exchange for a future vote on healthcare subsidies.
These are some live pictures of the U.S. Capitol dome, where the Senate was adjourned in the last hour or so, but they are getting ready to head back again tomorrow morning to pick things up where they left off. All of this taking place after a late-night, rare session on Sunday.
That vote, I mean. And it's a key step toward ending the U.S. government longest shutdown.
Joining me now is -- from New York is presidential historian Tim Naftali again. He's also a former director of the Nixon Presidential Library. He's also a senior research scholar at Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs. Tim, it's always great to have you on.
TIM NAFTALI, PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: Thanks, Polo.
SANDOVAL: Before we look back, reflect on the last 40 days of the government shutdown, let's get to the more immediate. I'm curious, from your perspective, how will history look back on the deal that was struck in the Senate on Sunday?
NAFTALI: Oh, I think history, it will depend on what happens next year in the midterms.
A lot of the judgments regarding the famous shutdown in the Clinton era, a lot of that -- those judgments came later when we saw the outcome for Speaker Gingrich and then the president's reelection in 1996.
I do think a lot of the hot takes may not do terribly well as we see changes in the political landscape going forward.
The most important thing at this point, I think, the most interesting from a historical point of view, is the ways in which the Democrats themselves conclude what happened?
There's a -- there is a very important struggle going on over the future of the Democratic coalition. There will be a lot of people who will see an advantage in attacking the eight centrists in the Senate.
[00:45:12]
Others will understand the need for some pragmatism at this point but will feel that the American people or Democratic voters are going to expect more from them.
And so, there may be an interesting internal debate among the Democrats, which may be quite different from the way in which this shutdown affected American politics and has a lot more to do with internal politics in the Democratic Party than national politics.
SANDOVAL: And the history of the shutdown itself. Obviously, it's already historic.
When we look back on this, once we get past the midterms in the next year, I mean, how -- I mean, will this be, perhaps, a learning opportunity for -- for future lawmakers, to try to avoid this? I mean, you had millions of Americans that were caught in the middle; are still being caught in the middle, technically. NAFTALI: Well -- well, frankly, shutdowns are, for the Congress, a
dereliction of duty. After all, their job is to determine how revenues are raised and how revenues are spent. And when there's more spending than revenue, what the debt limit should be. Those are very important constitutional duties that the Congress has.
And having American workers, federal workers, work without pay or -- or be let go, with the possibility of never getting a job again with the federal government, that's really outside of the congressional responsibilities and a sign of irresponsibility by Congress.
And this is not a partisan issue. This is a -- an institutional matter.
We have seen, however, the inability of our political class to reach the basic agreement on how money should be raised and spent. And those moments we call shutdowns, and those moments are very risky for both parties.
It's never quite clear which party will gain politically from a shutdown. But what is clear historically is that all Americans lose because of a shutdown. A 40-day shutdown is a sign of a failure of the American political class.
I think that, in this case, the shutdown helped revive Democratic momentum in the country, as we saw with the election on Tuesday. That doesn't mean the shutdown was a good thing for Democrats. It's never a good thing.
But in terms of how it might affect national politics, this shutdown seemed to have been more costly for the president than for the Democrats.
Now, if Democrats decide that they have lost the shutdown, because they couldn't achieve their goal, which is to restore the healthcare subsidies, then I don't think Democrats understood the politics of the moment; when it was never really likely that President Trump was going to allow for those subsidies to be paid to sustain a medical system, Obamacare, that he hated and -- and has, you know, he has consistently tried to undo what President Obama achieved and what President Biden achieved.
So, I never thought that it was likely that the Democrats could ever achieve that particular goal. But it seemed to me that they had a more general goal of just basically changing momentum in Washington, D.C., where the president was on a real roll in September and now seems to be on his back, seems to be a little bit on the defensive.
SANDOVAL: What a five days it's been, as you remind us, Tim Naftali: from that election on Tuesday to -- to the way things played out tonight on Capitol Hill.
Always grateful to have your perspective, Tim. Thank you.
NAFTALI: Thank -- thank you, Polo. SANDOVAL: And still ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, after more than a
decade, Hamas has finally returned the body of its longest held hostage. And all of this is part of a recent ceasefire deal. We're going to get you the details after the break.
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[00:53:03]
SANDOVAL: Hamas has finally released the body of its longest held hostage. Israel, confirming that it received the remains of Lieutenant Hadar Goldin on Sunday.
Goldin was an IDF soldier killed in the final days of the 2014 war between Israel and Hamas. Like previous hostage returns, Hamas gave Goldin's body to the International Red Cross. That organization then transferred it to the Israeli military.
The return now leaving four deceased hostages still in Gaza, and that includes three Israelis who were killed on October 7, 2023. There's also a Thai citizen who was kidnaped during the attack.
And now to Jerusalem, where CNN's Oren Liebermann reports on the latest hostage return and the most recent incident of extremist violence that occupied -- in the -- in the occupied West Bank.
And we'll work to get you that package a little later. But for now, we do want to thank you so much for joining us in the last hour of news, what was an extremely eventful day in Washington, D.C., as that Senate passed that procedural vote.
Next up, though, will eventually be the House after they pick up that business -- the Senate picks up the business tomorrow morning. I should say this morning, as it's now approaching 1 a.m. in Washington, D.C.
Again, thank you so much for joining us. I'm Polo Sandoval. The news continues in the next hour here on CNN.
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta.
Americans feeling the pain of the longest government shutdown in U.S. history may soon breathe a sigh of relief. The Senate advanced a deal to end the shutdown a short time ago, voting to break a Democratic filibuster on government funding legislation.
Senate Republican leader John Thune says he hopes the bill passes early this week. It will still have to go to the House for a vote before heading to the U.S. president's desk. A group of Democrats and one Democratic-aligned independent agreed to
reopen the government in exchange for a future vote on extending Obamacare subsidies.
The measure extends government funding through the end of January. It also reverses President Trump's mass firings of federal workers during the shutdown and would ensure Food Stamps are funded through fiscal year 2026.
Some Democrats are slamming this deal, including Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHUMER: This fight will and must continue. Democrats must fight because of millions of -- millions of families will lose health care coverage. We must fight, because children who are dying of cancer will not get health care coverage. We must fight, because a senior citizen cannot afford to pay $25,000 a year just for health insurance. We must fight to keep millions from financial ruin.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNTE: CNN's Manu Raju is following the latest developments from Capitol Hill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAJU: The longest government shutdown in American history now is coming to an end --
RAJU (voice-over): -- to the relief of so many Americans who have been hurt in different ways by this very damaging standoff of 40 days.
It could take another couple of days before it finally --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
