Meet the eight Senators who took the 1st step towards ending US government shutdown

A group of eight moderate Democrats agreed on Sunday to proceed with ending the government shutdown, without a guaranteed extension of health care subsidies, angering many in their caucus who say Americans want them to continue the fight.

This has ended a now 40-day shutdown that has sidelined federal workers, delayed food aid and snarled air travel. A House-passed bill that will be amended to fund the government until January 30 and include a package of three full-year appropriations bills.

The vote to advance the bill passed by a 60-40 margin, the minimum needed to overcome a Senate filibuster.

On what terms did they agree to vote?

Under a deal struck with the 8 Democrats who rebuffed their party’s leadership, Republicans agreed to a vote in December on extending subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.

The subsidies, which help lower-income Americans pay for private health insurance and are due to expire at the end of the year, have been a Democratic priority during the funding battle.

Who are the 8 Senators who helped end the shutdown?

• Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada

Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada reportedly voted 15 times to end the shutdown, even before Democrats extracted the promise of a vote on the health care tax credits.

She repeatedly stated she did not want to inflict sweeping pain on some Americans in order to extract a solution.

• Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois

Dick Durbin, the Democratic whip, is the only member of party leadership who voted with Republicans to advance the deal to end the shutdown.

“This bill is not perfect, but it takes important steps to reduce their shutdown’s hurt,” Durbin said in a statement.

• Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania

John Fetterman is the only Democrat who has voted each and every time to end the shutdown. He has also blamed his party for government workers missing paychecks and low-income families losing federal food aid.

• Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire

Maggie Hassan is one of the Democrats who negotiated the vote on the Affordable Care Act tax credits deal.

“I’ve heard from Granite Staters who can’t afford a doubling of their health insurance costs. I’ve also heard from families about the deep pain that the government shutdown has caused,” Hassan said.

A former New Hampshire governor, Hassan is up for reelection in 2028.

• Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia

Tim Kaine, representing about 150,000 federal workers affected by the shutdown, backed the deal, which includes a key provision for his state — reinstatement of federal workers impacted by mass “reduction in force” firings during the shutdown.

• Sen. Angus King of Maine

Angus King is an independent who caucuses with Democrats. He was a key negotiator on the deal struck to guarantee a vote on Affordable Care Act tax credits once the government is open.

• Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada

Jacky Rosen represents a state where 95,000 Nevadans utilise the ACA tax credits. She called the ACA tax credit vote “the concession we’ve been able to extract.”

• Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire

Jeanne Shaheen, an original sponsor of the legislation that created the enhanced Obamacare tax credits, played a key role in negotiating the vote.

All of these eight Democrats share some common traits:

• Most, but not all, previously held state-level office.
• Most, but not all, come from presidential swing states.
• Two have announced they are retiring from the Senate after their current terms end
• Two are senior members of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
• None of them is up for reelection in 2026.

(With agency inputs)