Outraged liberals warn Democratic leaders not to cave on shutdown

By Sarah Ferris, CNN

(CNN) — Some of the most prominent liberals in Congress are seething at an emerging deal to end the 35-day government funding stalemate without a clear win for Democrats, showcasing a massive splinter within the party that will soon be on full display.

The divide among Democrats inside the Capitol over strategy offers a gloomy portrait of how a possible deal could land in the broader party — likely spurring ugly infighting at a critical moment as Democrats are seeking to define their future ahead of the pivotal 2026 midterms.

There is still no official agreement within a group of Senate centrists that have been privately meeting to discuss a shutdown exit ramp. But multiple sources involved in discussions told CNN that a deal could be reached as soon as this week to pass a temporary stopgap bill to reopen the government alongside several full-year spending bills — with a promise of a future vote to extend billions in enhanced Obamacare subsidies.

Roughly a dozen Senate Democrats have privately signaled that they are willing to support a stopgap funding deal to reopen the government in exchange for a future vote on health care, two Democratic sources familiar with the discussions told CNN Tuesday.

Negotiations are still ongoing on exactly what kind of stopgap funding bill the Senate would take up and how it would pass the House, the sources familiar said, but that level of party support in the Senate would be more than enough for Congress to end the funding standoff that has ground Washington to a halt for more than a month.

It’s a reflection of the mounting frustration of many Democratic senators who can’t stomach any more shutdown pain, after this week’s partial cut-off in food aid, with the shutdown set to break the 35-day record on Wednesday.

Still, it won’t appease the scores of liberal senators now warning that the party will lose its leverage, and alienate voters, if it accepts such an offer.

“If the Democrats cave on this, I think it would be a betrayal to millions and millions of working families who want them to stand up and protect their health care benefits,” a furious Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent told reporters on Tuesday when asked what message the centrist-led talks would send to voters.

“I think we’re suckers to believe that a party that is opposed to extending the subsidies now is all of a sudden going to be supportive of that a month from now,” Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut put it plainly, referring to the billions of dollars in enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire next month.

It’s not yet clear whether these liberal Democrats will attempt to pressure Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to scuttle the dealmaking by the centrists or whether he would have any interest in doing so.

Senate Democrats huddled for nearly three hours Tuesday on the path forward, but remained uncharacteristically tight-lipped as they left. Schumer was also mum on whether he endorses the emerging plan, telling reporters: “We discussed all of the options.”

Leaving Tuesday’s marathon meeting, retiring Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan called it “really one of the most productive caucus meetings I’ve been in.” He stressed there were no “whip counts” and instead, “everybody had a chance to really talk about ideas and issues.”

And among the centrist Democrats, few are willing to speak publicly about where talks stand with Republicans – but many acknowledged the progress made in recent days.

Inside the lunch on Tuesday, senators were briefed on the state of the negotiations and about the “opportunities to work together,” according to Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.

Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan said after the lunch meeting that the pace “has definitely picked up” but declined to get into specifics of the talks.

“I think when there’s a deal and I get something on health care, I’ll be ready to vote,” Slotkin said, but wouldn’t say whether an ACA subsidies vote is sufficient.

Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona told reporters that Democrats were still talking to Republicans and acknowledged the massive gulf between the two parties on health care.

“Obviously we’re in different universes on how we’re trying to address this issue of rising costs for people,” Kelly said when asked whether a future vote on ACA subsidies could end the stalemate. “We want to bring down their health care costs, or at least make sure it’s what it was last year. My Republican colleagues and the White House seem not to care about that.”

He added: “But, you know, this thing can’t go on forever.”

Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine similarly signaled willingness to engage with Republicans on future health care talks — as long as the bill included protections for thousands of federal workers in his own district.

“We’ve got to have a path to fixing the ACA, but all the I’s and T’s don’t have to be dotted and crossed,” Kaine said, stressing that his priority in a funding deal was blocking President Donald Trump from freely firing workers and canceling federal projects, rather than a guaranteed extension of the Obamacare subsidies.

“Stop the mischief, no more firings, no more furloughs, no more cancellation of projects,” Kaine said.

Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada said she wanted to establish a working group to lay out a framework to address the rising cost of health care but didn’t want to state what she would or wouldn’t accept in order to vote to reopen the government.

“I’m not going to negotiate in the press,” she told CNN.

Still, some Democrats were adamant they would not relent without a clear agreement from Republicans.

“A promise ain’t good enough for me,” Sen Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut told CNN.

This story has been updated with additional information.

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CNN’s Manu Raju, Ellis Kim, Annie Grayer and Morgan Rimmer contributed