By Sylvie Delaney
On Sunday November 9th, the longest U.S. federal government shutdown in history reached its 40th day. That evening, leaders of the Senate met in hopes of agreeing on a continuing resolution that would reopen federal facilities until January and promise democrats an opportunity to vote on a healthcare spending bill that would extend Obamacare enhanced premium tax credits for one more year. The “clean” continuing resolution garnered enough democratic support to move to the House of Representatives for a vote. When that happens, it won’t necessarily mean a win for democrats. It certainly won’t constitute a win for the nonessential federal workers who have been furloughed and the essential workers who have been working without pay, nor for struggling middle and lower class citizens who have had their SNAP payments cut short just weeks prior to Thanksgiving.
Some senators who oppose the deal believe that it throws away the democrats’ leverage in the fight for an extension of the enhanced premium tax credits, that significantly lower the healthcare premiums of eligible individuals/families, which republicans have refused to negotiate on. Despite their majority in the House and Senate, republicans and the Trump Administration have aggressively blamed democrats for the shutdown by not voting “yes” on a federal funding package that will result in exorbitant healthcare premiums for Affordable Care Act (ACA) recipients starting January 1st, 2026.
Healthcare: The Center of The Shutdown
When H.R. 1 — or the modestly titled One Big Beautiful Bill Act — passed in July, it did not include funding to extend the ACA premium tax credits and they are doomed to expire at the end of the fiscal year, unless extended for another year. Additionally, the bill brought about sweeping changes for medicare and medicaid recipients as well, with the intended result of reappropriating that funding (equating $1 trillion dollars) towards tax breaks for high-income earners, millionaires, and billionaires. With the ACA subsidies previously helping cover a sizable portion of ACA recipients’ healthcare costs, healthcare is now an emergency issue that will cause serious consequences if tax credits and Medicare/Medicaid coverage are not extended.
The premium tax credits are crucial in the healthcare system. The tax credits make healthcare premiums more affordable for low- and middle-income recipients; without these credits or an alternative spending plan for healthcare, premiums for 2026 are doubling, tripling, or quadrupling for recipients who are already shopping for plans. (These costs depend on a recipient’s age, location, income and level of coverage.) Without premium tax credits, costs will go up $1,016 more per year on average and result in an estimated loss of coverage for 15 million. 50,000 of those without coverage will die every year because they are unable to access healthcare. In Washington, an approximate 216,375 individuals saved $1,330 in premium costs thanks to the tax credits. If not renewed, 80,000 people will lose coverage in Washington alone.
SNAP Decisions Between Trump and the Judiciary; Washington Releases Benefits
On November 1st, funding ran dry for the 42 million Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Immediately followed was a judicial order from Federal Judge John McConnell Jr. that ordered the Trump administration to allocate emergency funds to continue providing payments to food stamp recipients for November. The ruling castigated the administration for using food aid as a political tool.
“One cannot champion the public interest while simultaneously adopting policies that frustrate it. Discretion exercised in this manner ceases to be discretion at all—it becomes obstruction cloaked in administrative formality. Accordingly, intervention is not only warranted but necessary to restore coherence, accountability, and fidelity to the law’s intent,” it stated. The judge demanded that the emergency funds be drawn from a separate nutrition account held by the Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Washington State was one of several democratic states that immediately sent out the emergency funds in full to recipients. On November 7th, the Trump administration was granted a temporary stop-gap from the Supreme Court, and allowed the USDA to demand that states withhold 35% of funding to recipients or else have funding revoked for the program and be held liable for “overissuances.” A day later, another memo was sent out from the USDA which announced that it would comply with the federal orders and provide states full funding for SNAP.
Despite the administrative stay issued by the Supreme Court, Gov. Bob Ferguson gave the green light for individuals to use any and all benefits they received in November.
Stopgap Funding Bill Ends Shutdown
A short-term funding deal was reached that will open the federal government until January and temporarily ease the strain that has been put on federal programs including SNAP, furloughed employees and unpaid federal workers. The condition of the continuing resolution is a promise to Senate democrats that they can include an extension of the enhanced premium tax credits into any funding appropriations bill of their choice applicable to next year.
Sen. Bernie Sanders voted no on the deal, providing his reason in a CNN interview. “It’s more or less a meaningless gesture, because you could pass it here in the Senate but … you gotta get it past the House, you gotta get it signed by the president of the United States. You think the president of the United States is gonna pass that bill? I don’t.”
