House Democrats are fuming over eight of their Senate colleagues joining Republicans to pass a funding bill to end the government shutdown, with one saying Monday night, "People are [expletive] pissed."
A vast majority of the more than a dozen House Democrats venting on a private call slammed the deal, Axios reported Tuesday. The call reflected deep divisions among Democrat lawmakers over how to end the government shutdown.
The Senate bill still needs to be passed by the House before President Donald Trump can sign it and officially end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.
The deal the eight Democrat senators struck with Republicans included the promise of a Senate vote next month on renewing Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire at year's end. But such legislation would need 60 votes to pass, and the deal doesn't guarantee a House vote, making it unlikely Democrats will succeed in securing an extension.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., said the public is furious that Democrats caved on the shutdown fight, telling her colleagues, "People are [expletive] pissed," Axios reported.
Nearly "everyone [was] strongly against" the deal, according to Axios, citing a House Democrat who was on the call but spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details of a private discussion.
Roughly half of those who spoke on the call either directly criticized Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., or did so by agreeing with previous speakers who blasted him.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., former chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and member of the "Squad" of progressive House Democrats, argued that either Schumer "can't control his caucus" or he "gave his blessing" to the deal, reported Axios.
But a growing number of House Democrats are urging their colleagues to stop the infighting. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., instructed members to keep the focus on healthcare and not on "a few individuals in the Senate," according to Axios, citing three lawmakers who were on the call.
Rep. Susie Lee, D-Nev., the leadership representative for members in battleground districts, similarly told her colleagues to focus their shutdown-related attacks on Republicans.
Several hours after the call, House Democrat leaders sent emails to members' offices instructing them to vote against the shutdown deal. Still, some of the party's most centrist members are expressing openness to voting for it.
Just as the caucus call was beginning, Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, a retiring centrist who has openly opposed his party's shutdown strategy, signaled he supports the Senate deal. Golden was the only Democrat who voted for the House stopgap funding bill on Sept. 19, which Senate Democrats later blocked more than a dozen times.
"Congressman Golden's position on using a government shutdown as a legislative strategy has been clear and has not changed," a spokesperson told Axios, while stressing his support for extending ACA tax credits.
Lee said on the call that she is undecided on the bill, even as Jeffries has said he opposes it and vowed to fight it.
Jeffries has floated the possibility of a discharge petition to force a vote on extending ACA tax credits, sources told Axios.
Several members, including Jayapal and Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn.; Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa.; and Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., praised Jeffries' handling of the shutdown, according to Axios, citing a person on the call.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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