Three senators — Democrats Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, along with Independent Angus King of Maine — broke ranks Tuesday night to side with Republicans on a GOP spending bill that would have kept the government open. And now, they’re facing heat for it.
While Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and nine other Democratic senators voted to advance a similar GOP spending bill in March, they are not helping their Republican colleagues get their latest appropriations bill past the finish line this time around, citing several concerns, including that the package will increase healthcare costs for Americans because it fails to extend Obamacare subsidies.
“This administration doesn’t care about Nevadans, but I do. That’s why I cannot support a costly shutdown that would hurt Nevada families and hand even more power to this reckless administration,” Cortez Masto said after voting in favor of the Republican appropriations bill Tuesday night. “We need a bipartisan solution to address this impending health care crisis, but we should not be swapping the pain of one group of Americans for another.”
“I voted AYE to extend ACA tax credits because I support them—but I won’t vote for the chaos of shuttering our government,” Fetterman said after his Tuesday night vote supporting the GOP appropriations package. “My vote was for our country over my party. Together, we must find a better way forward.”
King called his decision to support the bill “one of the most difficult votes” he has taken during his tenure, but, like Cortez Masto, expressed fear that a government shutdown could embolden Trump, who has already hinted at using the shutdown as leverage for more government cuts.
“The irony of this vote is many feel that this was an opportunity to stand up to Donald Trump,” King said in a video he posted to social media after voting to support the GOP’s appropriations package. “The irony, the paradox is, by shutting the government we are actually giving Donald Trump more power, and that was why I voted ‘yes.’ I did not want to hand Donald Trump and Russell Vought, and Stephen Miller additional power to decimate the federal government.”
The senators’ decision to support the Republican appropriations bill has garnered public criticism from at least one of their Democrat colleagues in Congress. Rep. Dan Goldman, D-N.Y., said he was “very upset” to see his Democratic Party colleagues in the Senate “already caving” to Republicans.
Meanwhile, Goldman said Democrats in the House are “very united” in opposing the Trump-backed GOP appropriations package.
SHUTDOWN EXPLAINED: WHO WORKS, WHO DOESN’T AND HOW MUCH IT COSTS
Fox News Digital reached out to Schumer for comment about the Democratic Party defections, but did not receive a response in time for publication.
Republicans, meanwhile, have said that the defections represent Schumer’s dwindling political power within the Democratic Party. Ultimately, the GOP will need eight total Democrats to cross the aisle in order for their continuing resolution to pass.
Cortez Masto added that she has been working the phones since her Tuesday night vote, urging both Republicans and Democrats “to come together.”
