After weeks of gridlock, a plan to reopen the federal government was signed into law by President Donald Trump (R) Wednesday after receiving approval in the House earlier that day.
Many Democrats had previously pushed to keep the government shut down until they come to an agreement with their Republican counterparts on the potential extension of expanded health insurance tax credits, leading to a stalemate in the Senate where any plan needed at least 60 votes to advance.
First created in 2021 as part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), these credits give many Americans access to free or discounted monthly premiums health insurance premiums through the Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace.
Without intervention from Congress, this tax credit is set to expire at the end of this year. Should this happen, only the more limited version of the tax credit originally included in the ACA will remain in effect going forward.
These difficulties were overcome this week, however, as a deal was reached to reopen the government despite the ongoing nature of the debate, with a handful of Democrats joining their Republican colleagues in support of reopening the government.
As the shutdown becomes a thing of the past, some Maine politicians have weighed in on deal reached by lawmakers.
After the agreement overcame its biggest hurdle in the Senate earlier in the week, several members of Maine’s Congressional delegation expressed a mixed bag of opinions.
[RELATED: Maine’s Congressional Delegation Offers Mixed Reactions to Ending the Historic Government Shutdown]
While Sen. Susan Collins (R) and Sen. Angus King (I) were positive about the deal, Rep. Chellie Pingree (D) of the First Congressional District was decidedly opposed to the agreement.
Although Rep. Jared Golden (D) of the Second District did not share remarks this week concerning this move specifically, he had previously criticized his Democratic counterparts in a Substack post last month for keeping the government closed over a “normal policy debate.”
Since the deal has been signed into law, both Sen. Collins and Rep. Golden have spoken out alongside Maine’s Governor Janet Mills (D).
Sen. King — who generally caucuses with the Democrats — published an op-ed in the Portland Press Herald defending his vote in support of the package, seemingly pushing back on accusations that he “caved” by voting to reopen the government.
[RELATED: Trump Signs Bill Ending Record-Long Government Shutdown After Weeks of Washington Gridlock]
Gov. Mills used her brief remarks on this situation to issue sharp criticism of both Republicans and the Trump Administration, blaming them for the shutdown and outlaying accusations of cruelty with respect to health care and food.
“The Republicans who control Congress and the White House could have prevented this needless Federal shutdown or ended it at any point over the last 43 days,” she wrote.
“Instead, the shutdown – the longest in U.S. history – became an example of how cruel and callous Republicans are willing be to deny access to health care and take food from hungry children, families, and seniors,” said Mills.
“While this shutdown may end, the dysfunction in Washington under the Trump Administration and Republican Congress remains,” she said. “I call on the President and Congress once again to do what’s right: extend the health insurance tax credits and avoid skyrocketing premiums for tens of thousands of Maine people and millions more across the country.”
Click Here to Read Gov. Mills’ Full Statement
The statement issued by Collins praises lawmakers for bringing an end to the historic shutdown and underscores her own role in making this deal a reality.
“Tonight, we finally put an end to the longest government shutdown in our nation’s history, which has caused completely unnecessary harm to so many families in Maine and across the country, as well as to our national and economic security,” wrote Collins.
“As Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I worked with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle and with members of the House of Representatives and Administration to resolve the stalemate before America’s dedicated public servants missed yet another paycheck,” she said. “I am pleased that under our legislation, all federal employees, including members of our military and Coast Guard, Capitol Police officers, Border Patrol agents, TSA screeners, and air traffic controllers will receive their back wages.”
“Since the beginning of the shutdown, I have been pushing for the three appropriations bills that previously passed the Senate with overwhelming bipartisan support to be attached to a continuing resolution to reopen government,” explained Collins. “These bills include important funding that will support our veterans, troops, farmers, and rural communities, and provide full-year funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).”
“I thank Leader Thune for his commitment to bringing full-year appropriations bills to the floor, and I look forward to our continued work on appropriations legislation,” concluded Collins.
Click Here to Read Sen. Collins’ Full Statement
Golden’s statement largely echoes the sentiments expressed in his October Substack post, explaining that he is glad to see the shutdown come to end and encouraging his colleagues to now take action to extend the expanded ACA tax credits.
“Congress still has a window to pass bipartisan legislation to extend the ACA premium tax credits,” said Golden. “In September, I joined a bipartisan coalition in the House to put forth legislation to extend the credits for one year and now, with the shutdown now over, I urge members of both parties who care about affordable health care to come back to the table so we can get the job done.”
Golden then goes on to explain that the approved package included several priorities for which he advocated, including Community Project Funding Requests for the towns of Holden and Surry.
Click Here to Read Rep. Golden’s Full Statement
King’s op-ed in the Press Herald confront head-on accusations that he “caved” on his support of extending the expanded ACA tax credits by voting to reopen the government this week.
“I should mention that restoring the tax credits is what I want; one of the first bills I introduced last January was to do just that — and extend them permanently,” he wrote, in part. “But it became clear that we simply weren’t going to get the tax credit fix as long as the shutdown went on, and keeping the pain of the shutdown going in the service of an unattainable goal just didn’t make sense.”
The piece then goes on to explain that he did not believe prolonging the shutdown would help move the needle on the tax credits. He further underscores how, as part of the deal to end the shutdown, Republican lawmakers agreed to hold a floor vote on the extension.
“It guarantees an up or down vote on a bill extending the ACA tax credits (drafted by the Democrats) within the next month, which will either be successful or will put the Republicans squarely on the record opposing relief for skyrocketing health insurance premiums,” he wrote.
Later in the piece, King criticized the President, calling the current state of affairs “one of the most dangerous moments our country has ever faced and we need to unite to stop it,” suggesting that a continued shutdown would have only “empower[ed]” Trump.
“We do need to stand up to him, but a shutdown, with all the pain it is bringing to the very people we want to help, is just not the place to do it,” he wrote.
King then closed his op-ed by expressing hope that a tax credit extension is now a possibility and gladness that the record-length shutdown has finally come to an end.
“Will we be able to pass a bill next month extending the tax credits? It’s going to take some hard bargaining and is anything but a sure thing, but at least now there’s a chance where there was none before,” he said. “And, in the meantime, the kids will be fed.”
Click Here to Read Sen. King’s Full Op-Ed
As of this article’s publication, it does not appear that either Rep. Chellie Pingree (D) of the First Congressional District has issued updated public statements regarding the government’s reopening.
Rep. Pingree has staunchly opposed ending the shutdown until an agreement was reached regarding the health insurance tax credits, as indicated by a statement shared earlier this week when the deal was poised to overcome its most substantial hurdle in the Senate.
“A ‘deal’ that lets ACA credits expire fails the millions of families counting on us to keep their health care affordable,” wrote Pingree in a post on X.
“Republicans have spent years trying to dismantle the ACA, and pretending Mike Johnson will allow a vote on a clean ACA bill in the House is a fantasy,” she said. “I will be a no on this ‘deal.’”
