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Outraged voters and<\/span> politicians alike are demanding to know why a group of Senate Democrats sided with Republicans to reopen the government without securing any concessions on preserving health care coverage \u2014 just days after the party swept last week\u2019s elections with a burst of energy fueled, in part, by its willingness to fight back.\u00a0<\/p>\n Democrats had spent weeks arguing that the longest shutdown in history was necessary to make sure health care subsidies administered under the Affordable Care Act were preserved in the next spending package. They won\u2019t be: Instead, Senate Republicans agreed to hold a separate vote on ACA subsidies by the end of the year. With Republicans in the majority, Democrats are almost guaranteed to lose.\u00a0<\/p>\n Speaking to The Intercept, a key Democratic leader who voted to end the shutdown argued the party did get something out of the fight: the illustration of a point.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt proved the point that Republicans are not sensitive to health care insurance premiums and we are sensitive to health care insurance premiums,\u201d said Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., \u201cand the national polls show that we\u2019ve made a national issue out of [it].\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Durbin, who is retiring at the end of his current term, is the only member of Democratic leadership to vote for the deal to end the government shutdown. He told The Intercept that Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was \u201cdisappointed\u201d by his decision but understood.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Without Republican votes to extend the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies, millions of Americans are expected to see their health care premiums double next year. And despite agreeing to allow a vote in the Senate, Republicans seem unlikely to pass a bill to keep those subsidies in place.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cNo,\u201d Republicans will not vote to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., told The Intercept. \u201cWhy would I continue to give tens of billions of dollars to insurance companies?\u201d said Graham. \u201cThat\u2019s insane.\u201d<\/p>\n In the House, Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., would not even commit to holding a vote on the Affordable Care Act subsidies. \u201cI\u2019m not promising anybody anything,\u201d Johnson told <\/a>reporters last week. \u201cWe\u2019re not taking four corners, four leaders in a back room and making a deal and hoisting it upon the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pa., called the outcome a \u201cbetrayal\u201d of working-class families.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe American people have endured the longest government shutdown in history only to see a small group of Senate Democrats concoct a so-called \u2018deal\u2019 that guarantees nothing on health care.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n \u201cThe American people have endured the pain of the longest government shutdown in history only to see a small group of Senate Democrats concoct a so-called \u2018deal\u2019 that guarantees nothing on health care and is a betrayal to the working families whose insurance costs are going to skyrocket,\u201d Rep. Lee told The Intercept. \u201cI am strongly opposed to capitulating to false promises that will hurt people in the long run.\u201d<\/p>\n None of the eight senators who broke to support the deal are up for reelection, suggesting that Democrats understand how unpopular the decision is with their base. Beyond Durbin, the seven other senators who voted to end the shutdown are Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; John Fetterman, D-Pa.; Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.; Tim Kaine, D-Va.; Angus King, I-Maine; Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.; and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s a stark contrast to last week\u2019s election, when Democrats swept<\/a> races in Virginia, New Jersey, New York City, and California. Many credited Democrats\u2019 success with their sudden willingness to fight back against Republicans in defense of health care.\u00a0<\/p>\n Backlash has been so severe that some Democratic members of Congress are calling on Schumer to resign from his leadership position. So are some of the party\u2019s 2026 hopefuls<\/a> \u2014 including Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cSen. Schumer has failed to meet this moment and is out of touch with the American people. The Democratic Party needs leaders who fight and deliver for working people,\u201d wrote Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., <\/a>in a post <\/a>on X. \u201cSchumer should step down.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n