STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Some Democrats are so unhappy with the deal to end the government shutdown we cannot play all of their words on the radio. Consider Peggy Flanagan, lieutenant governor of Minnesota, talking on Facebook.
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PEGGY FLANAGAN: We deserve so much more than this [expletive].
A MART脥NEZ, HOST:
That bit of language amounts to a campaign slogan because Flanagan is running for U.S. Senate in 2026. So let's listen to a slightly longer clip from her remarks.
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FLANAGAN: It's not OK. So it is time for you to pick your fighter and pick accordingly because we deserve so much more than this [expletive].
MART脥NEZ: Flanagan was dismayed that some Senate Democrats broke with the rest of the party and joined Republicans to pass the bill, even after Democrats dominated last week's elections.
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FLANAGAN: Especially when we saw victories up and down the ballot. All across the country, people were with us, and then this.
INSKEEP: For example, Mikie Sherrill won the New Jersey governor's race in that election. She called the agreement malpractice. Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres of New York was on this program on Monday and said he's voting against the Senate bill when it gets to the House.
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RITCHIE TORRES: Because it's not a deal. It's an unconditional surrender that abandons 24 million Americans who are about to see their premiums more than double.
INSKEEP: Former North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, who is running to flip a Senate seat there, said, quote, "any deal that lets health care costs continue to skyrocket is unacceptable."
MART脥NEZ: So let's explain a couple of things here. Enhanced subsidies for people who buy insurance through federal marketplaces were introduced during the pandemic in 2021. Then they were extended by the Inflation Reduction Act. Now, those subsidies are the ones that will expire at the end of this year, and that's why Democrats rejected a short-term spending bill more than a month ago, which wound up triggering the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Now, the Senate bill would reopen the government but does not address health care costs. But as part of the deal that attracted a few Democrats, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he would let Democrats choose a health care proposal and then hold a vote next month.
INSKEEP: Democrat Tim Kaine of Virginia is one of the senators who voted for the bill. He told NPR's Here & Now it's an opening for his party.
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TIM KAINE: We got a fighting chance of winning this health care vote. Dems have got the high ground on it now. People know we're fighting for them. We're going to continue to do it.
INSKEEP: Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman also voted to reopen the government, telling NPR's All Things Considered that it was reckless to shut it down in the first place.
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JOHN FETTERMAN: I absolutely support extending those tax credits. But for me, the kinds of chaos and holding our government hostage is unacceptable.
MART脥NEZ: Congressman Seth Moulton of Massachusetts is another Democrat hoping to join the Senate. Yesterday, on MORNING EDITION, he said Chuck Schumer should no longer lead their party in the Senate.
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SETH MOULTON: I think there's a leadership vacuum in the Democratic Party right now, and it's time for a new generation of Democrats to step up.
INSKEEP: OK. We heard from both sides there within one party. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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