Democrats did not receive their one key demand in the shutdown battle: extending Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year. Instead, the deal promises a vote on health care subsidies in the coming weeks — something Senate Majority Leader John Thune had already offered as part of a deal over a month ago.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who has been a vocal leader in the fight to extend health care subsidies, posted a video on X Sunday night captioned: “Tonight was a very bad night.”
“This was a very, very bad vote,” Sanders said, adding that the deal “raises health care premiums for over 20 million Americans” and “paves the way for 15 million people to be thrown off of Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., stands next to a poster during a news conference about SNAP benefits, Wednesday, Oct. 29, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington.
Sanders said last week’s elections — in which Democrats across the country won by historic margins — shows that “the American people want us to stand up to Trumpism, to his war against working-class people, to his authoritarianism. That is what the American people wanted. But tonight, that is not what happened.”
Sanders was not alone. Sen. Elizabeth Warren said the party “lost” the fight over health care. Sen. Chris Murphy argued there was “no way to defend” the yes vote.
“My fear is that Trump gets stronger, not weaker, because of this acquiescence,” Murphy wrote on X.
Several key Democratic governors, some of whom are rumored to be considering a bid for the White House in 2028, are criticizing the deal. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called the negotiations a “deeply disappointing result” with the administration steamrolling Congress. Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker wrote in a post on X that instead of a deal, it’s an “empty promise,” and California Gov. Gavin Newsom curtly called the move by Senate Democrats “pathetic.”
READ MORE | ‘A very bad night’: Democrats face blowback from their own party over shutdown deal