With end to record government shutdown in sight, Ron Johnson and Tammy Baldwin still can’t agree

Wisconsin U.S. Sens. Tammy Baldwin and Ron Johnson are diametrically opposed to an apparent deal to end the longest federal government shutdown in American history.

Democrat Baldwin says a compromise without guarantees related to Affordable Care Act tax credit extensions “is not enough.” Johnson, a Republican, said he is pleased that the shutdown appears to be nearing its end but said he would like to see legislation to eliminate them in the future.

“It is kicking the can down the road. You know what’s going to happen on Feb. 1, when this continuing resolution runs out,” Johnson told WPR’s Wisconsin Today.

On Sunday, eight Senate Democrats sided with Republicans and took the first step toward ending the shutdown, which marked its 41st day, Monday. According to Politico, Democrats have agreed to support a legislative package to fund the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, Department of Veteran Affairs and military construction programs for the full fiscal year. Other federal programs would be funded through Jan. 30 under the compromise.

In exchange, President Donald Trump’s administration has committed to rehire government workers fired at the beginning of the funding lapse. Senate Republicans have promised a December vote on an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits passed in 2022, which are aimed at keeping health insurance premiums down.

On Sunday, Baldwin said in a statement that she opposes the deal because the enhanced tax credits aren’t included.

“I have been in Washington at the table trying to reopen our government and find a compromise to make sure that 275,000 Wisconsinites don’t have their health care costs go through the roof next year,” Baldwin said. “Donald Trump and my Republican colleagues have refused to even talk. A wink and a nod to deal with this health care crisis later — with no actual guarantees — is just not enough for me or the Wisconsin families I work for.”

The deal has roiled some progressive Democrats who are claiming Senate Democrats are surrendering to Republican demands. In a Monday statement, Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Devin Remiker said he is “incredibly disappointed” that a handful of Democrats took the deal.

“This moment requires us to fight, not fold,” Remiker said.

Johnson has introduced a bill he claims would end federal government shutdowns by continuing some prior year federal funding levels for 14 days if Congress can’t agree on new budget bills. Senate Democrats rejected the bill for a second time on Friday, arguing it would allow Trump to decide which federal workers get paid, according to Politico.

“There’s no partisan advantage here whatsoever. You can claim, ‘Well, it’s going to restrain spending,’” Johnson said. “Well, is that a bad thing?”

Johnson said he thinks Democrats “made a huge mistake” with their standoff on Affordable Care Act credits because it’s “highlighted what a miserable failure Obamacare has been.” He said most Americans won’t be affected if the credits expire. 

Last year more than 270,000 Wisconsin residents qualified for a total of $1.9 million in enhanced tax credits, making up the vast majority of the more than 310,000 Wisconsinites who enrolled in the ACA for 2025.

An analysis from the KFF finds that, for the average 40-year-old in Wisconsin, that monthly premium is set to rise from $495 to $611 for the second-lowest cost silver plan — an increase of 23 percent.

“I’ve got a great deal of sympathy for that less than a couple million people who lose their subsidies,” Johnson said. “I’m willing to do something as a bridge for those folks if we open up government, but we’ve got to have dramatic changes to Obamacare so we actually have a system that doesn’t continue to drive skyrocket premiums masked by hundreds of billions of dollars of subsidies flowing into the insurance companies.”

Johnson and other Republicans have called for repealing or transforming the ACA, while Democrats have claimed the GOP haven’t proposed an alternative proposal since it was first went into effect more than a decade ago.

Johnson said any stopgap funding bills to reopen the government likely won’t get approved until Wednesday or Thursday.

Amid the record-long shutdown, many federal workers have been furloughed or worked without pay, flights have been reduced due to air traffic controller staffing issues and the Trump administration has attempted to withhold funding for federal food assistance.