The lights came back on
Congress reopened the government, a Trump-district Democrat targeted one of her own, and Adelita Grijalva was finally sworn in, plus the rest of this week’s headlines.
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Now, on to the week that was.
1) Congress reopens the government
After a 54-day recess, the House returned on Wednesday to pass the bill that finally ended the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Six Democrats joined all but two Republicans to send the package to President Donald Trump, who signed it within hours. The deal extends current spending levels through Jan. 30—giving appropriators roughly two months to finish the remaining nine annual funding bills—and folds in three of the 12 measures that cover military construction, veterans’ programs, the Agriculture Department, the FDA and congressional operations. It also reinstates the federal workers fired during the shutdown with back pay and blocks the Trump administration from carrying out any mass firings while the CR is in effect.
2) Eight Senate Democrats break ranks to end shutdown
The House vote capped a deal brokered by New Hampshire’s two Democratic senators—Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan—and Maine independent Angus King, who caucuses with Democrats. Five additional Democrats joined them, giving Republicans the 60 votes needed to advance the bill and break the funding stalemate. The eight immediately drew blowback from most congressional Democrats and much of the party’s base, who saw last week’s off-year election wins as a mandate to keep pressing for an extension of the ACA’s enhanced premium tax credits. But the senators defended the agreement, noting that it guarantees a floor vote on an ACA extension by the second week of December and shields both SNAP and federal workers from being weaponized in the next round of funding talks.
3) Democrats vow to keep health care center stage
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has repeatedly refused to commit to a House vote—even if the Senate sends over a bill—and President Trump has again called on Republicans to repeal and replace the ACA, reviving an effort that famously collapsed in his first term after the late Sen. John McCain’s iconic thumbs-down. These two developments ensure health care will remain in the national conversation for the foreseeable future as both parties battle over the best policy solution. House Democratic leaders urged members this week to stay disciplined on Republicans’ refusal to act as open enrollment begins and families brace for premiums that could double, triple, or even quadruple amid a broader affordability crisis the president has downplayed. Democrats also filed a discharge petition to force a vote on a three-year subsidy extension—the same timeline Congress adopted in the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act—but the effort is unlikely to secure the necessary signatures to trigger a vote.
4) Trump-district Democrat targets one of her own
Just before the funding vote, Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez—who represents a Southwest Washington district President Donald Trump won by three points—filed a disapproval resolution aimed at fellow Democrat Jesús “Chuy” García. She argues García’s last-minute decision to retire rather than seek re-election was designed to clear the way for his chief of staff to succeed him. Garcia pointed to a series of personal events as the catalyst for his choice. As I scooped in Thursday’s Congress Nerd, House Democratic leadership plans to work against the resolution if Republicans bring it to the floor, a swift move meant to prevent the kind of corrosion of unity Democrats say they can’t afford heading into major year-end fights and the 2026 cycle. While Gluesenkamp Perez has a few supporters, some members criticized the resolution as an unnecessary distraction. One House Democrat I spoke with went further, describing it as “a Karen,” the online shorthand for women who police others’ behavior in an entitled way.
5) Grijalva finally takes the oath of office
Fifty days after winning her special election in a deep-blue Tucson district, Rep. Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) was finally sworn in on Wednesday as the first Latina ever elected to the House from Arizona. Speaker Johnson had refused to administer the oath during any of the House’s non-voting sessions throughout the shutdown, an unprecedented break with the long-standing practice of swearing in newly elected members as soon as possible so their constituents aren’t left voiceless. His delay effectively denied more than 800,000 Arizonans representation during the funding lapse and drew condemnation from Democrats who accused him of abusing procedural control for political gain. Moments after taking the oath, Grijalva became the crucial 218th signer of the bipartisan discharge petition to force a vote to release the Epstein Files, which Johnson says will occur next week. Under normal timelines, the final signature would have triggered a seven-legislative-day waiting period and put a potential vote on track for early December unless Johnson intervened through the Rules Committee.
The best of the rest
6) Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is recovering from a fall during a morning walk near his home in the east suburbs of Pittsburgh. … 7) Reps. Shontel Brown (D-Ohio) and Jim Costa (D-Calif.) led dozens of Democrats in charging that the Trump administration is using U.S. beef policy as a political weapon instead of addressing families’ real economic hardships. … 8) The Supreme Court quietly shut down a bid to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the 2015 decision that guaranteed nationwide marriage equality. … 9) House Homeland Security Committee Democrats pressed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel for a briefing on a newly reported FBI directive that warns criminals are posing as Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. … 10) A group of Senate Democrats introduced new legislation to curb President Trump’s expanding use of the military inside the United States. … 11) A bicameral group of Democrats urged 19 Democratic governors today to end state data-sharing practices that allow ICE to access driver’s license records. … 12) Members of the House Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition warned that the United States’ failure to participate in COP30 marks a dangerous step backward in the fight against global warming. … 13) Appellate judge Dianna Gibson adopted a map submitted by voting-rights groups that carves out a clear Democratic-leaning district in Utah centered around north Salt Lake County. … 14) Sens. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and John Curtis (R-Utah) convened a bipartisan talk on political violence at Utah Valley University, where Charlie Kirk was assassinated during a speech two months ago. … 15) Labor Caucus co-chairs told Starbucks CEO Brian Niccol the company is reneging on its February 2024 deal to bargain with Workers United and is engaging in what they describe as union-busting. … 16) Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) voiced support for Starbucks workers who walked off the job as part of a national strike aimed at pressuring the company to resume stalled contract negotiations. … 17) Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) led over 50 Democrats in pressing Secretary of State Marco Rubio to increase U.S. aid to Jamaica after Hurricane Melissa. … 18) Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-N.J.) announced that she will retire at the end of her current term, closing out more than five decades in public service to New Jersey and the nation. … 19) Democrats on the House Education Committee warned Education Secretary Linda McMahon that staff cuts in the Office of Postsecondary Education jeopardize aid for HBCUs, TCUs and MSIs. … 20) Reps. Nellie Pou (D-N.J.) and Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) led a bipartisan appeal urging Attorney General Pam Bondi to restore the DOJ’s defense of the HSIs program. … 21) Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) led a group of Senate Democrats in formally objecting to the White House’s suspension of a rule that closed a major export-control loophole that allowed foreign firms linked to black-listed entities to access advanced U.S. technology. … 22) Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) reintroduced a package of bills aimed at protecting immigrant veterans from deportation and restoring access to the benefits they’ve earned through military service.