Orlando Rep. Maxwell Frost slams Senate funding deal offering ‘empty promises’

U.S. House Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL) advocates for the extension of subsidies to make healthcare more affordable. Nov. 3, 2025. Credit: McKenna Schueler

After seven weeks of a federal government shutdown that has led to flight cancellations and delays in food assistance to families, the U.S. Senate approved a funding agreement Monday that could reopen the government if approved by the House and signed into law by President Trump.

Democratic U.S. Congressman Maxwell Frost of Orlando, however, sharply rebuked the controversial deal for offering “empty promises.”

“This funding fight was supposed to be about addressing the urgency of rising health care costs for 20 million Americans brought on by this administration’s failed policies and Republican inaction. Instead, the Senate gave up in exchange for an empty promise for a vote on extending current health care subsidies, ” Frost said in a statement, echoing the concerns of other Democrats who have described the deal as “lousy” and “complete BS.”

“Americans don’t need empty promises,” Frost added. “They need to be able to afford their health care premiums.”

Seven Democrats and one independent U.S. Senator joined Republicans (including Florida’s two U.S. Senators) in voting 60-40 to approve the funding agreement Monday, which would effectively reopen the federal government. Just one Republican, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted against the deal, according to the Washington Post. It’s expected to head to the U.S House for a vote later this week.

Congressman Frost, a progressive Democrat from Orlando, says he’s a firm “no” on the deal, noting it fails to directly address the expiration of Affordable Care Act tax credits at the end of the year. The expiration of the COVID-era tax credits could cause the monthly healthcare premiums of roughly 22 million Americans, including nearly 200,000 people in Frost’s district, to more than double. Locals who rely on their health insurance for life-saving medication are already sounding the alarm.

“This deal fails our communities who elected us to stand up for them, but the fight isn’t over,” Frost shared Monday. “I believe that in the richest country on the face of the Earth, families deserve to get the care they need when they need it—and I will fight like hell to make that a reality,” he said.

The sort-of bipartisan deal reached between U.S. senators over the weekend offers no guaranteed extension of the enhanced ACA tax subsidies, which have helped make healthcare more affordable for millions of low- and middle-income Americans who don’t receive health insurance through an employer, including small business owners and the self-employed.

The deal approved Monday would reverse the layoffs of thousands of federal workers during the early days of the shutdown, fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) through September, and offer stopgap funding for most of the federal government’s operations through Jan. 30, according to the Post.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has also reportedly promised a vote by mid-December on whether to extend the ACA tax subsidies. But that promise falls short of the guaranteed extension that Democrats have been holding the line for over the last 42 days.

“People need healthcare, damn it,” U.S. Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) told Axios. “Not some lame promise about a mythical future vote.”

The shutdown is now the longest in U.S. history. It’s left hundreds of thousands of federal employees either furloughed or working without pay, including TSA officers and air traffic controllers who are considered essential to government operations.

The air traffic control system already faced a staffing shortage of roughly 3,000 controllers prior to the government shutdown. Now, the lack of pay afforded to controllers working 10-hour shifts during the shutdown has caused even greater staffing shortages, leading to flight delays and cancellations at airports across the U.S., including Orlando International Airport.

“For decades, air traffic controllers have held the line through staffing shortages, outdated equipment, hiring freezes, terrorist attacks on September 11th, pandemics and every crisis that this country has lived through,” said Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, a union that represents nearly 20,000 aviation safety professionals.

“They have kept their focus, their composure and their commitment to safety, but now they must focus on childcare instead of traffic flows, food for their families instead of runway separation,” Daniels noted during a press conference Monday. “This is not politics,” he added. “This is not ideology. This is the erosion of the safety margin the flying public never sees, but [that] America relies on every single day.”

This strain of the government shutdown on air travel, as Thanksgiving and the winter holidays approach, has added significant pressure to Congress to reach a deal to reopen the government. So has the unprecedented delay of SNAP benefits that help 42 million Americans, including nearly three million Floridians, buy groceries for themselves and their families.

Although the Trump administration has said they have the money to fund SNAP for November, the administration has appealed court orders to do so, agreeing only to fund partial benefits.

“The record here shows that the government sat on its hands for nearly a month, unprepared to make partial payments, while people who rely on SNAP received no benefits a week into November and counting,” an appeals court said Sunday.

The seven Democrats who caved and joined Republicans in voting through the funding agreement Monday are all years away from re-election. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (who voted against the deal, despite playing a key role in negotiations) is consequently facing calls to resign from some fellow Democrats and progressive groups like MoveOn and Our Revolution over his handling of the shutdown.

“Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced. If you can’t lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?” progressive Congressman Ro Khanna (D-CA) wrote in a post on X.

The Florida Democratic Party also blasted the Senate’s funding deal, opting to blame Republicans rather than any of the Democrats (or Schumer) who were complicit in its passage.

“A temporary deal to end the shutdown without healthcare is not a real solution,” said FDP chair Nikki Fried in a statement.

“Republicans have once again betrayed the American people,” she argued. “This deal will force millions of Americans to choose between medicine or groceries. It doesn’t have to be this way. A deal without health care is unacceptable — plain and simple.”

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Orlando Rep. Maxwell Frost slams Senate funding deal offering ‘empty promises’

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