The deal to end the 41-day government shutdown is dividing Democrats across the country, including a prominent mother and daughter duo.
Stefany Shaheen, who is vying for a New Hampshire House seat in a competitive Democratic primary ahead of next year’s midterm elections, ripped the bipartisan deal that was negotiated in part by her mother, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. The younger Shaheen — and a vast swath of congressional Democrats — argued the agreement is insufficient because it failed to guarantee an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies slated to expire at the year’s end.
“Improving health care has been the cause of my life,” Stefany Shaheen wrote in an X post Sunday evening. “So I cannot support this deal when Speaker [Mike] Johnson refuses to even allow a vote to extend health care tax credits.”
“We need to both end this shutdown and extend the ACA tax credits,” Shaheen continued. “Otherwise, no deal.”
Sen. Shaheen told reporters on Monday that her daughter is “independent” and “is going to be such a great congresswoman.”
“She knows a lot about the health care system because she’s been working in it for over 20 years,” Shaheen continued.
The younger Shaheen’s comments echoed a spate of Democratic lawmakers and left-leaning activist organizations who have voiced outrage over the bipartisan agreement and argued the Democrats who broke ranks to support the deal “caved” to Republicans.
None of the eight Democratic caucus members who crossed party lines to support the shutdown deal are up for reelection in 2026. Jeanne Shaheen announced in March that she would not seek reelection.
The shutdown deal that extends government funding levels through the end of January 2026 was reportedly negotiated by Jeanne Shaheen and her fellow New Hampshire Democrat, Sen. Maggie Hassan, in addition to independent Maine Sen. Angus King and several Republicans.
The framework also includes commitments from Republicans to rehire federal workers who were laid off during the shutdown and to hold a vote on an ACA subsidy bill of Democrats’ choosing in mid-December.
A majority of Democratic lawmakers excoriated the deal for failing to ensure Congress extends the subsidies before the end of December. Republicans are unlikely to support an extension without significant reform, meaning a clean extension proposed by Democrats could fail to clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.
“This was a very, very bad vote,” independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, long seen as a leader of the Democratic Party’s left flank, said in a video posted to social media on Sunday. Sanders also claimed the bill raises health care premiums for more than 20 million Americans despite the funding measure not addressing health care.
Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren also slammed a “yes” vote on the shutdown deal as a “mistake.”
“I will not support a deal that does nothing to make health care more affordable,” Warren wrote on X.
However, Shaheen argued that the deal she helped negotiate included the most favorable terms that Democrats would have been able to secure to end the shutdown.
“This was the only deal on the table,” Shaheen told reporters on Sunday night. “It was our best chance to reopen the government and immediately begin negotiations to extend the ACA tax credits.”
“This agreement gives an opportunity to continue that fight,” Shaheen also told Fox News’ Brian Kilmeade on Monday.
Shaheen and the seven other Democratic caucus members who bucked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer were also under immense pressure to end the record-breaking shutdown over its toll on a vast swathe of impacted Americans. Hundreds of thousands of federal employees missed paychecks during the shutdown and shortages of air traffic controllers, who were working unpaid, snarled air travel in major hubs across the United States.
Stefany Shaheen’s bid to succeed Democratic New Hampshire Rep. Chris Pappas, who is running for the older Shaheen’s Senate seat, is not a sure bet despite her well-known last name. Maura Sullivan, a Marine veteran who served in the Department of Defense under former President Barack Obama, is also vying for the Democratic nomination.
A spokesperson for Sen. Shaheen’s office did not respond to a request for comment by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include Sen. Shaheen’s comments to reporters which were made post-publication.
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