After more than 40 days of political gridlock and mounting hardship for millions of Americans, the U.S. Senate has taken a decisive step toward ending the longest government shutdown in modern history. On November 9, 2025, a bipartisan coalition of senators—led in part by Virginia’s Tim Kaine—broke rank with most Democrats to advance a deal that would reopen the government, restore pay and protections for federal workers, and set the stage for a fierce new debate over the future of health care subsidies.
The shutdown, which began in early October 2025, was triggered by a deadlock over annual appropriations bills and a contentious debate about whether to extend health care tax credits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). As days stretched into weeks, the effects rippled across the country, but nowhere more acutely than in Virginia. With more than 850,000 residents relying on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and one of the nation’s largest federal workforces, the state found itself at the epicenter of the crisis. By late October, Governor Glenn Youngkin had declared a state of emergency and launched the Virginia Emergency Nutrition Assistance program to help bridge gaps in food benefits.
The breakthrough came late Sunday, November 9, when the Senate voted 60-40 to move forward on a stop-gap funding measure. The legislation, as reported by CBS News and The Virginia Mercury, would extend government funding through January 2026 and include three full-year appropriations bills covering military construction and veterans affairs, the Department of Agriculture and FDA, and legislative branch operations. Most crucially for federal workers, the deal would rehire those terminated during the shutdown, provide back pay for all regardless of status, and prevent further layoffs—provisions that Kaine insisted upon during negotiations.
“After the elections in Virginia last Tuesday, I kind of assessed on Wednesday, ‘Where are we?’ (on the shutdown),” Kaine told reporters during a Zoom call, according to The Virginia Mercury. “And so I decided to then join the discussions to try to find the path out, and brought to the table an issue that wasn’t subject to the negotiation really before I got there … which was how to treat federal workers.” He added, “I don’t need to court anybody’s approval and I don’t need to fear anybody’s judgment.”
Kaine’s decision, however, was not without controversy. Seven Democrats and one independent—Angus King—joined Republicans to advance the measure, while many in the Democratic Party’s progressive wing criticized the move as a retreat. The deal did not secure an immediate extension of the ACA health care tax credits, a central Democratic demand, though Republicans agreed to hold a vote on the issue by mid-December. As Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois put it, “Eight of us are sticking our neck out that you’re going to keep your word. I hope you will,” referencing the promise to hold a vote on health insurance tax credits next month.
Virginia’s Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger publicly supported Kaine’s decision, stating on CBS’s Face the Nation that “Virginians need to and Virginians want to see the government reopen.” Her spokesperson later emphasized, “Hundreds of thousands of Virginians are feeling the devastating impacts—lost paychecks, work disruptions, and lost SNAP benefits. Governor-elect Spanberger appreciates Senator Kaine fighting for protections for Virginia’s workforce and securing them as part of the negotiations.”
Not all of Kaine’s colleagues were as supportive. Senator Mark Warner, also of Virginia, voted against the deal, arguing that while it included “important language preventing further mass layoffs of federal employees,” it “still leaves millions of Americans wondering how they are going to pay for their health care or whether they will be able to afford to get sick.” Progressive critics were even more blunt. Political commentator Keith Olbermann demanded Kaine’s resignation on X, while retired Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman lamented, “It’s striking and inexplicable that Senate Dems crumbled following decisive signals from the American electorate. Americans expect the Democrats to fight Trump and Republicans.”
The internal party rift was mirrored in the House. Rep. Suhas Subramanyam, D-Loudoun, announced he would vote “no” on the Senate proposal, faulting it for not fully addressing health-care costs or federal worker firings. In contrast, Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Fairfax, applauded Kaine’s move as protecting federal workers and ending “attack after attack” under the Trump administration. Republican Rep. Ben Cline, R-Botetourt, saw the deal as a belated Democratic concession, stating, “After 40 days of unnecessary hardship, Democrats have finally recognized that their government shutdown strategy was a failure. … Sadly, it came at the expense of our troops, SNAP recipients, and federal employees who bore the brunt of their political brinkmanship.”
Despite the uproar, the deal’s passage through the Senate was all but assured after the procedural vote, with the chamber expected to incorporate various elements into a single legislative package. The bill would then require approval from the House and the President’s signature before the government could fully reopen. House Speaker Mike Johnson urged members to return to Washington “right now” in anticipation of a vote later in the week, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune expressed optimism that the process could be completed in “hours, and not days.”
Along the way, the Senate rejected a series of amendments that would have altered provisions related to hemp regulation and the rescission of funds canceled by the Trump administration. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky consistently opposed the deal and related amendments, seeking to strip language from the package that he argued would harm the hemp industry in his state. The chamber also blocked an effort by Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin to force a vote on extending ACA tax credits for one year, a move that failed along party lines. The tax credits are set to expire at the end of the year, raising concerns about rising insurance premiums for Americans purchasing health coverage through the ACA marketplaces.
Political scientist Stephen J. Farnsworth of the University of Mary Washington offered a broader perspective, noting that Kaine’s calculation reflected the freedom of a lawmaker not facing imminent reelection—Kaine’s next campaign is in 2030. “The farther an elected official is from their next election, the more likely they are to make the decision about how to proceed based on sound public policy evaluation,” Farnsworth said. “The fact that the Democratic senators who are part of this negotiation are some distance from their next election, or have announced their retirement, suggests that this is more about their evaluation of how the government should proceed rather than reelection considerations.”
Whether the compromise will be remembered as a bold step or a miscalculation remains to be seen. As Farnsworth cautioned, “Only time will tell. The reality is that an awful lot of people are suffering from the economic consequences of the shutdown. It’s better for the government to be open than not.”
