The agreement reached between both parties to open the federal government after the longest shutdown in its history has caused an internal division on the Democratic side and has reduced their ability to pressure the Donald Trump Administration on issues such as Obamacare health coverage.
Although less than a week ago the Democratic Party celebrated the victory in the local and state elections as the beginning of a new time for the party, the breakdown of party discipline by a few to advance the unlocking of funds once again puts the party in a complicated situation.
Eight moderate Democrats – one of them an independent who votes with them – announced a pact with Republican senators, turning their backs to the majority of party members and senior officials.
Democratic leaders reject the proposal
The decision of these legislators was rejected by the minority leader in the Senate, Democrat Chuck Schumer, who voted against this procedural proposal to advance the unblocking of the Government, and that of the House of Representatives, Hakeem Jeffries, who has advanced that he will do so when it reaches the lower house, where he will need the support of a simple majority before Trump can ratify it.
For his part, senior senator Bernie Sanders, an independent who votes with Democrats, said this Sunday upon learning of the pact that it was “a bad night” and other legislators denounced the pact such as Chris Murphy, Democratic senator from Connecticut, who wrote a message in X stating that it was “a big mistake.”
Also the governor of California, Gavin Newsom, who sounds like a possible presidential candidate, defined the agreement as “pathetic” and stated that the country “deserves more,” as did the governor of Illinois, JB Pritzker, who pointed out that it is not a pact “but rather an empty promise.”
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On the other hand, the senators who worked on the proposal, such as Jeanne Shaheen, from New Hampshire, defended that “it was the only proposal on the table” and that once the Government was opened they would negotiate the rest.
Agreement without mention of Obamacare
After insisting during the forty-one days that the closure lasted that there would be no agreement that did not guarantee the extension of Obamacare health coverage – which expires at the end of this year -, Republicans have managed to convince eight moderate Democrats to support an agreement that does not mention coverage at any time.
Obamacare is known as the funds allocated by the Government to citizens who purchase their health insurance under the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
According to several media outlets, the Republicans have committed to holding a vote in the Senate on Obamacare health coverage, but it does not appear in the published version of the agreement.
The leader of the House of Representatives, Republican Mike Johnson, refused a few days ago to commit to offering a vote on Obamacare in the chamber.
Furthermore, holding the vote does not ensure that it will be approved, so health coverage remains just as threatened as it was when the government shutdown began.
The agreement includes payment for the thousands of employees who have been working this time without receiving their payroll, as well as financing the departments of Agriculture (in charge of food stamps for the poorest), Veterans Affairs and other agencies until January 30.
This afternoon the Senate is expected to vote to definitively validate the extension and the amendments and if this obstacle is overcome it will be sent back to the House of Representatives to be voted on before Trump can ratify it.
With information from EFE
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