Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont sharply criticized eight Senate Democrats who voted Sunday to advance legislation reopening the federal government, calling their decision a “very, very bad vote” and accusing them of caving to President Donald Trump’s policies.

The Senate vote took place late Sunday night, when eight Democrats joined Republicans to move forward on a continuing resolution — a stopgap spending measure designed to end the weeks-long government shutdown.

The measure is expected to provide temporary funding to federal agencies while lawmakers continue negotiations over long-term budget provisions.

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“Tonight, eight Democrats voted with the Republicans to allow them to go forward on this continuing resolution. And to my mind, this was a very, very bad vote,” Sanders said as he walked through the halls of Congress.

He reiterated his position in a post on X shortly after the vote.

Sanders argued that the bill would lead to higher health insurance premiums for millions of Americans.

“People can’t afford that when we are already paying the highest prices in the world for health care,” he said.

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According to Sanders, the continuing resolution fails to protect the enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that Democrats fought to extend, leaving an estimated 20 million Americans at risk of higher costs.

The government shutdown began after Democrats blocked earlier spending proposals, insisting that any funding deal include an extension of the temporary ACA subsidies that expired earlier this year.

On Sunday, they agreed to move forward on government funding after receiving assurances of a future vote to continue those subsidies.

Sanders, however, said the compromise represents a setback for working Americans.

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He linked the vote to what he described as the broader political struggle against what he called “Trumpism,” saying recent elections sent a clear message for Democrats to oppose the president’s agenda.

“As everybody knows, just on Tuesday, we had an election all over this country,” Sanders said.

“And what the election showed is that the American people wanted us to stand up to Trumpism — to his war against working-class people, to his authoritarianism. That is what the American people wanted. But tonight, that is not what happened.”

Sanders continued, “So we’ve got to go forward, do the best that we can to insure and protect working-class people, to make sure that the United States not only does not throw people off of healthcare, but ends the absurdity of being the only major country on earth that doesn’t guarantee health care to all people. We have a lot of work to do, but to be honest with you, tonight was not a good night.”

The eight Senate Democrats who sided with Republicans have not yet publicly commented on Sanders’ criticism, but several within the party have expressed concern that the shutdown strategy had become unsustainable.

Some Democrats acknowledged that the prolonged shutdown risked further political and economic damage as hundreds of thousands of federal workers remained without pay.

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Party divisions over the strategy have deepened in recent weeks, with progressive lawmakers pushing for continued resistance to Republican spending measures and more moderate Democrats warning that the shutdown was eroding public support.

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The continuing resolution is expected to move through both chambers of Congress this week, potentially restoring funding to key government agencies and programs.

However, debates over the future of healthcare subsidies and long-term fiscal policy remain unresolved.

Sanders’ comments signal ongoing tensions within the Democratic Party as lawmakers navigate internal disagreements over how to handle major policy negotiations with the Trump administration.

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