Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), who has Nevada National Security Site in her state, joined six other Democrats and one Independent Sunday in advancing a continuing resolution to fund the government until Jan. 30, 2026.
“For the last 40 days, I’ve been fighting tooth and nail to hold President [Donald] Trump and my Republican colleagues accountable and make sure Congress takes action to prevent a massive spike in health care costs for millions of hardworking families who will be financially devastated by these increases,” Rosen said in a statement online Monday. Unfortunately, she added, Republicans are “weaponizing their power in alarming ways to inflict unimaginable pain and suffering on working people.”
After the government has now been shut down for a month and some change, the Senate reached the 60 votes needed to invoke cloture, a test vote that allows debate without filibuster, on a stopgap spending bill to fund the government until Jan. 30. While the bill includes three annual spending bills for agriculture, military construction and veteran affairs, and the legislative branch, the bill does not include a guaranteed extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits expiring Jan. 1, the main reason Democrats cited for refusing to vote for the initial package.
Along with Rosen and her fellow Senator from Nevada Catherine Cortez Masto, the five Democrats who joined Republicans on the vote are Sens. Tim Kaine (Va.), John Fetterman (D-Penn.), Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.) and Dick Durbin (Ill.). Independent Sen. Angus King (Maine) also voted to invoke cloture. King, Cortez Masto and Fetterman have been voting to open the government since the government first shut down, but Rosen and the other four joined to get to the supermajority needed.
The group of Democrats is banking on a future vote to extend the health care credits since “Republicans have made clear that they will not address health care as part of shutdown talks,” according to a statement by Shaheen on website X Sunday. She added Trump, Senate majority leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.) “all said they are willing to find a way of extending these tax credits.”
Rosen agreed, adding, “let me be clear: I will keep fighting like hell to ensure we force Republicans to get this done. Nevadans and all Americans deserve access to affordable health care, and Senate Republicans need to work with us in a bipartisan way before the next deadline.”
While the maximum amount of time for debate after cloture is invoked is 30 hours, the Senate may decide to vote sooner. Thune said on the Senate floor he hopes it “will be hours and not days.” After the Senate votes, the House will have 36 hours notice to reconvene and vote on the package themselves.