Eight members of the Senate Democratic Caucus broke ranks Sunday and voted to advance a deal to reopen the federal government.

That’s fewer than the 10 Democrats who broke ranks in March to advance a previous GOP-led stopgap funding bill — a move that sparked a huge backlash against Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

There are few obvious threads connecting the group who broke the partisan impasse this time. Some of them helped broker the agreement with Republicans over the opposition of Schumer and most other Democrats, who wanted a guaranteed extension for expiring federal health insurance subsidies.

Most, but not all, previously held state-level office — including four former governors. Most, but not all, come from presidential swing states. Two have announced they are retiring from the Senate after their current terms end, and two are senior members of the Senate Appropriations Committee. None are up for reelection in 2026.

The vote remains open Sunday night as Senate leaders await the arrival of all 100 senators, but these eight members have already cast their votes, with most issuing statements explaining why:

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada

Cortez Masto has voted 15 times to end the federal government shutdown, even before Democrats had extracted the promise of a vote on the health care tax credits. She repeatedly stated she did not want to inflict sweeping pain on some Americans in order to extract a solution to “the impending health care crisis” of expiring tax credits.

She described “lines like I haven’t seen since the pandemic” for food banks in Nevada to reporters during the vote Sunday night and said that that opening the government “was key to stopping that pain.”

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois

Durbin is the Democratic whip and the only member of party leadership who voted with Republicans to advance the deal to end the shutdown. His likely successor as whip, Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), voted against advancing the deal after sticking with Schumer and Durbin in March.

“This bill is not perfect, but it takes important steps to reduce their shutdown’s hurt,” Durbin said in a statement. “Now that Democrats secured these wins, it’s time for Leader Thune to keep his promise to schedule a vote on the ACA tax credits in December.” He is retiring next year after three decades in office.

Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania

Fetterman is the only Democrat who has voted each and every time to end the shutdown. He’s knocked his party for sparking the shutdown and blamed them for government workers missing paychecks and low income families losing federal food aid.

Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire

Hassan, who was one of the Democrats who negotiated the vote on the Affordable Care Act tax credits deal. A former New Hampshire governor, she is up for reelection in 2028.

“I’ve heard from Granite Staters who can’t afford a doubling of their health insurance costs. I’ve also heard from families about the deep pain that the government shutdown has caused,” Hassan told reporters Sunday, highlighting the dueling pressures Democrats were under to cut a deal.

Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia

Kaine represents about 150,000 federal workers affected by the shutdown and backed the deal that includes a key provision for his state: reinstatement of federal workers impacted by mass “reduction in force” firings during the shutdown.

“This legislation will protect federal workers from baseless firings, reinstate those who have been wrongfully terminated during the shutdown, and ensure federal workers receive back pay,” he said in a statement. Kaine admitted Sunday night that he was a latecomer to the group, saying, “I joined it 48 hours ago, not for lack of interest.”

Sen. Angus King of Maine

King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, was a key negotiator on the deal struck to guarantee a vote on Affordable Care Act tax credits once the government is open. He hosted multiple meetings in his Capitol hideaway in recent weeks as the compromise came together.

A former governor of Maine, King pointed to the pain the shutdown is causing with federal aid programs halted. “We are closer to the possibility of work on the ACA tax credits for the people of this country than we were yesterday, than we were a week ago, two weeks ago, or a month ago,” he said Sunday.

Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada

Rosen joined her fellow Nevadan Cortez Masto to vote to advance the deal, representing a state where 95,000 Nevadans utilize the ACA tax credits. Like King, she was just reelected in 2024.

“Trump and his Republican cronies on Capitol Hill do not give a damn about hurting working people, and their conduct over the last month has been nothing short of appalling, Rosen said in a statement. She called the ACA tax credit vote “the concession we’ve been able to extract.”

Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire

Shaheen was an original sponsor of the legislation that created the enhanced Obamacare tax credits that have been central to the shutdown dispute and played a key role in negotiating the vote to extend them. Like Durbin, she is retiring from the Senate next year and has spent much of her Senate career on the Appropriations Committee. She was also part of shaping the new stopgap spending bill that, in tandem with the ACA vote promise, could open the government.

“This was the only deal on the table. It was our best chance to reopen the government and immediately begin negotiations to extend the ACA tax credits,” Shaheen said Sunday night.

Senators have reached a deal to end the government shutdown.

The agreement, which was negotiated in part by Sens. Angus King, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan as well as GOP senators, has “more than enough” members of the Senate Democratic Caucus to advance, according to two people granted anonymity to disclose the terms.

Senate Republicans are expected to support the agreement.

The Senate is poised to vote later Sunday night to advance the House-passed stopgap, which will later become the vehicle for the larger funding deal.

That vote would tee up consideration later this week of a legislative package that would fund the Department of Agriculture and the FDA, the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction projects, and the operations of Congress, for the full fiscal year — the product of months of bipartisan, bicameral negotiations. All other agencies would be funded through Jan. 30, according to text of a continuing resolution released Sunday.

As part of Democrats’ agreement to end the shutdown, Senate Majority Leader John Thune is promising Senate Democrats a vote in December to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that are due to expire at the end of the year short of Congressional action. Democrats will also get to determine what extension bill gets a vote.

The government-opening agreement also guarantees that federal employees laid off during the shutdown are re-hired and gives federal employees backpay.

Many progressives in the Senate — along with a large number of House Democrats, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — think anything short of a deal to pass an extension of the tax credits as part of a government funding bill is insufficient.

“We will not support spending legislation advanced by Senate Republicans that fails to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. We will fight the GOP bill in the House of Representatives, where [Speaker] Mike Johnson will be compelled to end the seven week Republican taxpayer-funded vacation,” Jeffries said in a statement.

House Democratic leadership has insisted the health subsidies be addressed in legislation rather than a handshake compromise, especially as Johnson has refused to offer Democrats the same promise of a vote on an extension in his chamber.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is confident Democrats will regain control of the House in the 2026 midterms, even as the party continues to battle over the government shutdown.

In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Jeffries told Kristen Welker that Tuesday’s election results were “decisive.”

“Democrats are definitely going to take back control of the House of Representatives, and we’re going to stay focused on the issues that matter: lowering the high cost of living, fixing our broken health care system and cleaning up corruption to actually deliver a country that works for working class Americans, for everyday Americans and for middle class Americans,” Jeffries said.

The New York Democrat had slightly less confidence about his party’s chances to regain control of the Senate, instead saying there is a “strong and viable” pathway to Democratic control in the upper chamber.

“The American people have had enough and they want a government that actually puts them first as opposed to what Republicans have been doing, prioritizing the wealthy, the well-off and the well-connected,” Jeffries said.

Democrats won most of the critical races on Tuesday, including gubernatorial elections in Virginia and New Jersey and New York’s mayoral race, as well as the vote on California’s redistricting amendment.

Jeffries credited New York Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s win, in part, to a platform centered on affordability — something he said Democrats around the nation are working on.

“This is the wealthiest country in the history of the world,” Jeffries said. “It’s unacceptable that far too many people are struggling to live paycheck to paycheck.”

Still, the party will have its work cut out for it, particularly as some high profile Democrats announce retirement. Democrats now control 213 seats of 435, with one Democrat waiting to be sworn in (Arizona’s Adelita Grijalva). There is also a vacant seat in Texas for which two Democrats are competing in a runoff.

Democrats in the Senate have, when counting two independents who caucus with them, 47 of 100 seats.

Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) announced her retirement just after Tuesday’s elections. Jeffries on Sunday commended the former speaker as a “legendary, heroic, historic, transformational figure.”

Meanwhile, concerns over the cost of living are only rising as the government shutdown continues. But Jeffries said he is hopeful the shutdown will end before the Thanksgiving holiday — so long as Democrats and Republicans are able to negotiate.

For weeks, the two parties have struggled to come to a consensus, with Democratic leaders arguing GOP leadership and President Donald Trump have refused to negotiate. Still, Jeffries said, his caucus will continue to have a presence on Capitol Hill even as Speaker Mike Johnson keeps the House out of session.

“We’ll be in Washington as House Democrats ready, willing and able to reopen the government to make life better for the American people and to address the health care crisis that has been devastating the country,” Jeffries said.

President Donald Trump’s retribution campaign against his political adversaries could soon hit the Senate — and lawmakers are already bracing for impact.

After securing the indictments of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James, Trump has his sights set on Sen. Adam Schiff, the California Democrat who as a member of the House managed the president’s first impeachment trial.

If Schiff ends up indicted on allegations of mortgage fraud — a charge he has vehemently denied — or for any other claim, it would mark an unprecedented escalation for Trump to target an outspoken political adversary who is also a federal elected official.

As Schiff solicits dollars for a legal defense fund and builds an expansive political operation prepared to do damage control around any potential charges, Schiff’s Democratic colleagues in Congress are increasingly anxious about their own vulnerability. They are also frustrated with the unwillingness of Republican senators to speak out on Schiff’s behalf.

“I’ve spoken to a number of Republicans, and they are certainly disquieted, if not dismayed, by the increasing weaponization of the Department of Justice,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.). “Because it tears down the norms and rule of law that protects them and all Americans, as well as Adam Schiff and Democrats who may be targeted by Trump.”

It has been just a few months since news broke that Schiff was being investigated for mortgage fraud relating to the financing of his Maryland residence — and weeks since Trump in a social media post called on Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after Schiff, Comey and James. Recent reports have suggested the case against Schiff has stalled as prosecutors are said to be struggling to find sufficient evidence to bring up charges.

“[Trump has] been more than willing to go after his political opponents — to go after universities, to go after law firms, to go after media organizations,” Schiff said last week. “It’s all part of the same effort to silence and intimidate critics and, I think, needs to be recognized for what it is.”

The investigation remains ongoing, however. And FBI Director Kash Patel, another longtime Schiff foe, continues to brandish accusations that Schiff, as chair of the House Intelligence Committee, sought to leak potentially damaging information about Trump. 

A report from the DOJ Office of Inspector General, in which names have been redacted, found that the witness levying the leaking charges against Schiff had “little support for their contentions.” Schiff, through a spokesperson, has denied the claims.

Lawmakers of both parties are now closely watching to see what will become of Schiff. Interviews with senators revealed concerns that their institution is at risk of becoming further polarized if the DOJ goes ahead with charges.

“You can’t go around threatening people everyday and have a collaborative environment,” said Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.).

Democrats are on edge, worrying a Schiff indictment would open the floodgates to more targeting of Democratic elected officials. Many Republicans are either visibly uncomfortable with the dynamics or unwilling to weigh in on a matter that could put them crosswise with the president.

Because Trump took the step of publicly calling on his attorney general to go after Schiff — a break with historical precedent in which the White House has kept its distance from the Justice Department — an indictment would play out differently on Capitol Hill than past episodes where lawmakers have found themselves under legal scrutiny.

The most recent senatorial indictment — of Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), accused of bribery in 2023 — presented an awkward situation for many of his longtime colleagues in both parties. Most Democrats repeated the “innocent until proven guilty” mantra while praising him for stepping aside from his leadership post atop the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as the case worked through the system.

Menendez was convicted at trial and is now serving an 11-year prison sentence. In recent months, he has sought to endear himself to Trump, who has pardon-granting power.

But Schiff’s indictment would challenge those old norms in almost every way. Democrats are expected to rush to his defense and blast the Trump administration for carrying out a personal vendetta. Many Republicans will have to decide how strongly to push back, if they do at all.

Senate Democrats concede they are nervous about the looming threat. Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, for instance, said in an interview her team has been in touch with Schiff’s office about how to prepare to be the subject of a Trump investigation.

“We’ve already created a break-glass plan for ourselves if the spotlight turns to others in the caucus,” said Slotkin. A former CIA analyst from a swing state, her decision to support impeaching Trump in 2019 helped catalyze the successful vote in the House.

“It’s based on the experience we’ve watched Adam go through,” she continued of her own preparations. “How do you have a lawyer ready to go? How do you make sure … you know the legal left and right limits of what you can and cannot do? How do you think about a legal defense fund? I mean, there’s a lot of details.”

Schiff’s national profile precedes his current predicament, which means he’s had a considerable infrastructure supporting him. In the years between his election to the House in 2000, his rising to prominence during the first Trump administration, and then winning a Senate seat last year, he has assembled a team of Democratic firms and advisers.

He is standing up a legal defense fund and has an $8.6 million campaign war chest, more than $2 million of which was raised in the year’s most recent fundraising quarter alone — notable because he is not up for reelection until 2030.

A spokesperson for Schiff would not say how much cash is currently in the legal defense fund, but donations from any unrelated individual into that fund cannot exceed $10,000 per fiscal year and lawmakers cannot transfer campaign money into the account. Per Senate rules, members may set up a legal expense trust fund to pay for their defense, but they have to regularly disclose contributions and spending to the Senate Ethics Committee.

Schiff is being represented by the legal giant WilmerHale; one of his lawyers is Preet Bharara, a former U.S. attorney in the Southern District of New York who was fired by Trump in 2017 for refusing to follow orders to resign as a Barack Obama-era appointee.

On Capitol Hill, Democrats want Republicans to step up and offer support, too.

“We’re in the middle of a totalitarian takeover, in part, because even threatening major political figures like Adam Schiff … with arrest undoubtedly has a chilling impact on political speech,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said in an interview. “It’s been heartbreaking to see relative silence from Republicans in the face of these threats.”

Schiff said he has not yet heard directly from GOP colleagues about his case. However, Murphy is among some Senate Democrats, including Blumenthal, who say they are privately back-channeling with Republicans about the DOJ’s actions against Trump’s political enemies, including Schiff.

For many of the Republican Senators who work alongside Schiff daily, the situation is complicated. Notoriously chatty Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and John Kennedy (R-La.) — Trump loyalists who serve with Schiff on the Senate Judiciary Committee — declined to discuss the matter.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) would only point to the probe’s reportedly dimming prospects when asked for his reaction to the case.

“I just go by what I saw on television, that the people in the Justice Department thought … it was a difficult case to win,” he said.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice declined to comment and pointed to a recent social media post from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche denying news reports about the obstacles in charging Schiff for mortgage fraud.

Some Senate Republicans are avoiding comment on Schiff’s predicament by maligning former President Joe Biden for weaponizing the Justice Department — exactly what Democrats say is happening now under Trump.

“I don’t know the underlying facts, but I believe the Department of Justice should enforce the law and not be weaponized the way it was for four years under Joe Biden,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in an interview.

Further underscoring the treacherous terrain in which Schiff now finds himself is that some Republicans are outwardly eager to have him targeted.

“Adam Schiff was probably the most corrupt member of Congress when it came to pushing the totally false collusion hoax. … He used his position as chair of Intel to push that thing,” said Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). He was referring to the accusations during the first Trump impeachment trial that centered around claims that Trump pressured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to dig up information about Biden.

Johnson, the chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, is now leading an inquiry into revelations that Biden special counsel Jack Smith obtained the phone records of Republican lawmakers as part of his probe into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.

“It’s unfortunate the Democrats in California would elect someone like that who’s been censured by the House, that is so thoroughly proven a liar,” said Johnson, referring to a Republican-led 2023 House effort to condemn Schiff for his role in investigating Trump.

“He needs to be investigated,” he added.