WASHINGTON, D.C. - Virginia Senator Tim Kaine broke party lines on a Senate vote to pass a funding bill to reopen the federal government tonight, Nov. 10.
Senator Kaine was one of seven Democrats and one Independent to vote yes with Republicans on the bill. The only Republican to vote no was Kentucky senator Rand Paul.
Democrats were fighting during the shutdown to extend subsidies to keep Affordable Care Act premiums from skyrocketing. This newly-passed bill did not achieve that, instead it guarantees a future vote on a healthcare bill.
"It's a guarantee of a very high stakes debate and vote on the Senate floor in the full view of the American public without the background noise of shutdown consequences drowning out the critical nature of the healthcare debate," Kaine told WBOC in a meeting with reporters earlier today.
Virginia's other senator, Mark Warner, voted no on the bill. Maryland senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks, and Delaware senators Lisa Blunt Rochester and Chris Coons, voted no as well.
Senator Alsobrooks said in a statement tonight, "I have maintained from the beginning of this Republican shutdown that I could not vote for anything that does not address the rising health care costs... Republicans put forth a CR yesterday that does absolutely nothing to help struggling Marylanders afford health care."
Now that the bill has passed in the Senate, it will go to the House for a vote. If it passes in the House, President Trump will then need to sign off on final approval.