California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) called Senate Democrats’ deal with Republicans to reopen the government “pathetic,” accusing them of betraying “working Americans” after failing to secure an extension of enhanced Obamacare premium subsidies.
Newsom, a potential candidate for the 2028 presidential election, took to social media Sunday night after eight Democrats voted with Republicans in a procedural vote to allow a continuing resolution (CR) funding the government to advance.
“Pathetic,” he wrote from his personal X account.
His press office also called the Democrats’ capitulation “pathetic”:
“This isn’t a deal,” his office added. “It’s a surrender. Don’t bend the knee!”
Newsom shared more of his thoughts on his official gubernatorial account:
“Tonight’s Senate vote on the federal government shutdown should have been a time for strength. Instead we saw capitulation and a betrayal of working Americans,” Newsom wrote. “The American people need more from their leaders.”
Despite admitting that the Democrats had the power to continue to keep the government shut down, Newsom has spent the last 41 days blaming it on President Donald Trump and Republicans.
Just hours earlier on Sunday, Newsom appeared on CNN to call the Trump administration “shameful,” accusing it of using the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), or food stamps, as “a bargaining chip to end this shutdown.”
Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), and Tim Kaine (D-VA) defected from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and joined Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-NM), Angus King (I-ME), and John Fetterman (D-PA), who had previously voted to allow the House-passed CR to advance.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was the sole “no” vote from the Republican side.
The motion passed without a single vote to spare, and will allow a vote on a clean CR to fund the government through January 30, 2026 with a package of “relatively non-controversial appropriations bills” extending through the fiscal year, Breitbart News’s Bradley Jaye reported.
Instead of Democrats receiving a guarantee on an extension for Covid-era enhanced Obamacare premium subsidies like they demanded, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) only promised a vote. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has not committed to bringing it up for a vote in his chamber.
Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.
