Sen. Bernie Sanders said Monday he’s “very disappointed” that eight members of the Democratic caucus voted to advance a bill to reopen the government, arguing that Democrats got little in exchange aside from a “meaningless” vote on health insurance subsidies.
Asked by CBS News’ Caitlin Huey-Burns whether he viewed Sunday’s vote to advance the deal as a “capitulation,” Sanders responded: “I’ll try to think of a word, but that’s not a bad one.”
The bill — which still needs to formally pass the Senate and House — would fund the government until late January, ending the longest shutdown in modern history, and it would roll back federal layoffs imposed during the shutdown and advance a handful of bills to fund parts of the government for the rest of the fiscal year, which ends on Sept. 30, 2026.
In exchange, Republicans have promised to hold a vote by next month on extending a set of enhanced health insurance tax credits that were passed during the Biden administration and are set to expire this year. Without an extension, many Americans who buy insurance on Affordable Care Act exchanges could face significantly higher premiums.
Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats, called the deal a “disaster” since there’s no guarantee that the expiring health insurance subsidies will be extended. The senator was unimpressed by the promise to hold a vote.
“It’s a meaningless vote, because even if it got 100 votes in the Senate, it’s not going to go anywhere in the House and the president certainly would not sign it,” Sanders told CBS News. “Maybe people feel good about having a vote, but it doesn’t mean anything at all.”
The Democrats who backed the deal have argued Republicans were unwilling to negotiate further. They also point to the pain inflicted by the 41-day-long shutdown, including a delay to full Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, a freeze in paychecks for most federal workers and mass disorder at American airports due to air traffic controller shortages.
“I just refuse to shut our government down and hold our government hostage,” Democratic Sen. John Fetterman, who voted for the deal, said in an interview with “CBS Mornings.”
But Sanders argued the chaos of the shutdown was caused by President Trump and his allies, who he said are “responsible for this crisis” because they are “refusing to negotiate.”
He also expressed frustration with the Democrats who voted yes, accusing them of making “a very profound decision without really, to be honest, a lot of caucus discussion.”
Sanders calls Schumer an “establishment Democrat”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, voted against the deal, but some Democrats have criticized his handling of the process, with a handful of House members calling for him to step down as caucus leader.
Asked if Schumer should be replaced, Sanders replied: “By whom? That’s the point.”
But he offered a less-than-ringing endorsement of the top Senate Democrat, who Sanders said belongs to the party’s “corporate wing.” Sanders also said “it goes deeper than Schumer.”
“Schumer’s views are very different than mine. He is an establishment Democrat. No secret, I am not,” he said. “I hope that by electing new members of the Senate, we will have, in fact, new leadership. But right now, it is what it is.”
