Trump Administration Live Updates: Senate Moves to Vote as Democratic Defectors Relent on Shutdown

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www.nytimes.com/live/2025/11/09/us/trump-news/c…

(schumer wasn't the defector this time)

what we got:

a provision that would call federal workers who were laid off during the shutdown back to their jobs. It also would provide funds to ensure that federal workers who were furloughed during the shutdown can receive retroactive pay [(the latter as required by a 2019 law defector Angus King passed)].

The short-term spending bill would additionally bar the Office of Management and Budget from implementing any additional mass layoffs of federal workers through Jan. 30.

what we did not:

healthcare

Archive.ph link

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The fact that one of the provisions is that the Republicans will follow existing law by paying furloughed staff is a massive red flag even if everything else is ignored.

Good job trading something already required for everyone else’s healthcare Schumer!

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Schumer said he will vote against the deal. The defectors are to blame here.

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These Senators aren’t going to break ranks like that without getting the nod from leadership. Schumer took a big hit the first time he folded, so this time he just wanted cover. It’s still his failure.

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All I can say is at the end of the day, the right needed yes votes. And the ones who voted yes are to blame. You can assume about Schumer. I’ll leave that to the apparent mind readers.

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Schumer caved in the spring.

Schumer started the negotiating last week by offering a milquetoast request to have a vote for one fucking year extension instead of making it permanent. These fucks who are committed are just doubling down on his shitty compromising and it absolutely looks like he is just trying to save face.

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That fact that every defector is retiring or otherwise bot up for re-election is a HUGE clue that this is orchestrated, in order to minimize fallout. Schumer is avsolutely to blame here.

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OP edited

or it could be that not being up for re-election increases the chances of voting to reopen because they are not beholden to the electorate anymore. ergo propter hoc, anyone?

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Nah, that would require them to want to screw over the populace.

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OP

politicians can simultaneously believe that a course of action is best and that the people wouldn’t vote for it

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edited

The shift this time was particularly remarkable given that the legislation Republicans have offered does not address Democrats’ main demand in the shutdown fight: the extension of health insurance tax credits that are slated to expire at the end of the year.

Instead, the Democratic splinter group appeared to have received a commitment from Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader, to allow a vote in December on extending the tax credits for a year. Many Democrats have said for weeks that such a pledge would be insufficient to win them over, since such a bill has appeared all but certain to die in the Republican-led Congress.

I guess I jinxed it by starting to hope democrats had learned anything at all about negotiation.

Anyone have a list of the defectors?

Edit/Edit2: silence7’s other post has the list, here.

Two thoughts I saw elsewhere, but I agree with:
1. The Democrats were winning the PR battle with Republicans owning (as they should) all the pain they are causing. Democrats for no coherent reason decided to change their votes. So now they probably will own this, since it now looks like they held out for nothing. They volunteered to take the heat for Republicans in exchange for the incredible prize of unaffordable healthcare.

  1. The people who defected apparently are not going to be up for election soon or ever, and are in states that have been purple at least recently. Shaheen isn’t seeking reelection. Hassan and Fetterman are 2028. Kaine and King are 2030. This does allow for the possibility they are just taking the heat for something the caucus jointly decided, and the outrage by others (including Schumer) is totally performative.
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