MSNBC panelists complained on Sunday that Democrats are caving to President Donald Trump as they are poised to reopen the government without Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidy extensions.

Eight Democratic senators defied Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer by expressing their support for the Republican-led continuing resolution (CR) in a procedural vote, which would reopen and fund the government until Jan. 30. The panelists on “The Weekend: Primetime” expressed frustration over the Democrats not being handed the Obamacare subsidies despite shutting the government down for the longest period of time in U.S. history.

“For 40 days, you shut the government down and now you’re going to open the government up and what did you get in return? Nothing? Nothing? After the pain you inflicted, people were willing to take the pain, I talked to union workers from TSA who said, I’ll take the pain, it’s going to help me get health insurance subsidies paid. So you’re getting nothing in return. I don’t know how, and you just won an election on Tuesday, and you lose numbers,” MSNBC daily columnist Dean Obeidallah said. (RELATED: Hakeem Jeffries, Progressive Dems Rage Against Deal To End Shutdown)

WATCH:

The panelists also agreed that it is unclear why several Democrats flipped their position after they consistently shut the government down over their healthcare demands. Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine voted in support of reopening the government five days after his party’s sweeping victory in Virginia’s gubernatorial race.

The compromise between Republicans and Democrats would reverse the layoffs of 4,000 federal workers and schedule a vote on ACA subsidy extensions in December.

Co-host Antonia Hylton stated that Trump ultimately won the fight against Democrats, making the over 40 day shutdown meaningless.

“I mean, in a way, it seems like the president is kind of getting what he wanted 40 days ago when all this started,” Hylton said. “He was out there saying that, ‘oh, this is all about Democrats trying to give health care to illegal immigrants.’ He just said that to reporters moments ago, repeated that refrain that Democrats had actually very successfully pushed back against.”

“Then there’s all this energy. In the wake of the election on Tuesday, the president made remarks saying basically, wow, Republicans are being harmed by all of this, acknowledging that he was on his back foot. And now, here he is, winning again?” Hylton continued. 

Trump and Republicans have argued that Democrats voted for the shutdown because they wanted to hand government-run healthcare to illegal immigrants. Medicaid spending for illegal immigrants nearly tripled under the Biden administration, when illegal border crossings also reached record-highs by surpassing 2 million and 3 million encounters in a single fiscal year. The cost of Medicaid for illegal immigrants’ emergency care rose 142% in the fiscal year 2024.

“The Democrats, I don’t understand how a Democratic senator goes, wow, we won really big. Let me cave now. I don’t understand. That makes no sense to me,” Obeidallah continued. 

None of the Democrats who voted to reopen the government, including Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, are up for reelection in the 2026 midterms.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].