Cool heads douse a hot shutdown
A few senators like New Hampshire鈥檚 Jeanne Shaheen revive the art of listening and reason to find a compromise on ending a freeze on federal spending.
Miniature American flags flutter near the Capitol in Washington, Nov. 10.
AP
This year in Washington so far has been one of gloves-off politics rather than handshake compromises. More than 150 lawsuits have been filed against the Trump administration鈥檚 actions. Then, starting Oct. 1, Democrats in the Senate voted 14 times not to fund the government until a key demand on health care was met. The shutdown has been the longest in United States history.
On Sunday, however, a gaggle of three former governors 鈥� Sens. Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire along with independent Sen. Angus King of Maine 鈥� were able to broker a deal and achieve a 60-40 Senate vote that is expected to end the shutdown in coming days.
By forging a consensus with the majority Republicans, such as a promise to hold a vote on health-care subsidies next month, the three senators revived the art of reason and listening that the nation鈥檚 Founders expected of what is often called the 鈥渨orld鈥檚 greatest聽deliberative聽body.鈥�
鈥淭his was the only deal on the table,鈥� stated Senator Shaheen. 鈥淚t was our best chance to reopen the government and immediately begin negotiations to extend the [Affordable Care Act] tax credits.鈥�
Long a champion of bipartisanship during a political crisis 鈥� she was the first Democrat to lead New Hampshire in a generation 鈥� Senator Shaheen often achieves what Founding Father James Madison called 鈥渢he cool and deliberate sense of the community.鈥�
鈥淚t takes a good negotiator to figure out how to get to 鈥榶es,鈥欌�� she told The New York Times in September. 鈥淯nfortunately, a lot of people, particularly today, think it鈥檚 either my way or the highway. And that doesn鈥檛 achieve what we need to achieve.鈥�
During weeks of talks with Republican senators, she was widely trusted. 鈥淧eople have a lot of respect for her on both sides,鈥� a former GOP governor, Sen. John Hoeven from North Dakota, told The Boston Globe.
The effects of the shutdown, such as food aid shortages and canceled flights, also helped move the talks along. 鈥淭emperatures cool, the atmospheric pressure increases outside and all of a sudden it looks like things will come together,鈥� Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, told reporters on Sunday.
A 16-year veteran of the Senate, Senator Shaheen announced in March that she will not seek reelection in 2026.聽She told the Times that it is 鈥渢oo soon to tell鈥� whether Washington鈥檚 polarization, notably on foreign affairs, can end. Yet, she added with calm deliberation, 鈥淓ventually, we鈥檙e going to see a change.鈥�