Tlaib Says 'Enough Democrats Chose to Roll Over' as Trump Signs Bill to End Shutdown

US President Donald Trump signed legislation to end the longest government shutdown in the nation's history late Wednesday after Republicans pushed the funding measure through the House with the support of six Democrats.

The 222 to 209 House vote marked the feeble end of Democrats' effort to force Republicans and Trump to back an extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year. The standoff effectively concluded over the weekend, when eight members of the Senate Democratic caucus—with the tacit blessing of Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY)—broke ranks and endorsed a deal to reopen the government.

The Democrats who voted with House Republicans on Wednesday were Reps. Henry Cuellar of Texas, Don Davis of North Carolina, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Jared Golden of Maine, Adam Gray of California, and Tom Suozzi of New York.

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus—which unanimously voted against the funding measure on Wednesday—said in a statement that the deal all but cements premium hikes for tens of millions of Americans, as it lacks any concrete plan to extend the ACA subsidies.

"Premiums will double for an additional 20 million Americans under this so-called deal. Tens of thousands of people will die unnecessarily every year because of these extreme Medicaid cuts and skyrocketing healthcare costs," said Tlaib. "Our for-profit healthcare system is already broken, and instead of holding the line and fighting for healthcare as a human right, enough Democrats chose to roll over and make this affordability crisis worse."

Tlaib dismissed the Senate GOP's pledge to hold a vote on the ACA tax credits next month as "a worthless stunt that has no chance of being signed into law—if it’s even taken up."

“The American people want us to fight back, not cave to Donald Trump for absolutely nothing in return," said the Michigan Democrat. "Working people are already struggling and now an increase in premiums will make life worse for our families."

Tlaib offered her grim view of the material consequences of the shutdown deal as some Democrats tried to put a positive spin on the standoff, arguing that it succeeded in placing healthcare at the center of the national debate and laying bare Republicans' cruelty and utter lack of policy solutions.

"The silver lining of that agreement is that the issue doesn’t disappear," said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who opposed the deal.

Trump predictably wasted no time declaring victory and urging voters to punish Democrats for the shutdown in the 2026 midterms, even though Republicans control the government. Polling released earlier this month found that a majority of US voters blamed Trump and the GOP for the shutdown.

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), deputy chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said following Wednesday's vote that "the public rightly recognizes that Trump and congressional Republicans are to blame for the longest government shutdown in history, exploding healthcare costs, and the cruel and needless punishment of 42 million Americans receiving nutrition support."

"The American people stood with Democrats as we stood firm and fought for Americans' right to healthcare," said Omar. "Over the past two months, Progressive Caucus members sounded the alarm on behalf of Americans in districts across the country who won’t be able to afford their insulin or chemotherapy due to the Republicans' healthcare crisis."

"As this shutdown ends," she added, "we are more committed than ever to the fight for healthcare as a human right."