Democrats’ election night romp has further scrambled Washington’s shutdown politics, with leaders of both parties now cautiously assessing their next steps as the pain continues to grow for millions of Americans.
Yet it’s not clear if it will substantively shift the strategy of either side, including among the dozen or so centrist Democrats who are still actively engaging in talks with Republicans in a bid to end the record 36-day standoff before the election, potentially without the kind of clear commitment on health care that some Democrats are seeking.
“Last night was a good night but it was one night of the year,” Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona told CNN when asked about the elections, not answering directly if he would accept a promise of a health care vote. He noted that Democrats are discussing a “reasonable path forward” with the GOP.
“I don’t feel (it) changed a lot,” added Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, referring to the outcome of Tuesday’s elections.
As of Tuesday night, roughly a dozen Senate Democratic centrists had privately signaled they were open to the GOP’s proposed shutdown offramp — which includes a future vote on extending the enhanced Obamacare subsidies. That group, along with a handful of Republicans, met all morning Wednesday and are still in intense negotiations over a deal that could lead to reopening the government, according to sources familiar with the effort. The timing of when a deal would be announced, and when any votes would occur, is still unclear.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada stressed to CNN that there was “no deal” yet and that discussions were ongoing on health care, adding there are also serious talks about constraining Trump on spending cuts. Party leadership, she said, is not directly involved in the talks.
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