Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., speaks to reporters as she walks through the Senate subway in the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 30 in Washington.
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On the seventh day of the government shutdown, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., called on Republicans and her fellow Democrats to find a way forward while warning of consequences for the nation’s health care system.
President Trump on social media said earlier Monday he’s willing to work with Democrats on health care, but only after the government reopens.
When asked on Morning Edition whether anyone from the administration had reached out to her directly, Shaheen said, “No one from the administration.” She added that she has been working behind the scenes with senators from both parties to “find common ground.”
She framed the negotiations as a realistic effort to reopen the government without sacrificing consumer protections and access to care.
Shaheen is not seeking reelection in 2026. The veteran appropriator has long opposed shutdowns and helped broker past bipartisan deals. But negotiations have stalled, as Democrats and Republicans tussle over extending subsidies for the Affordable Care Act marketplaces that are due to expire at the end of the year. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that as many as four million people risk becoming uninsured if the credits are not renewed.
The current stakes are high. “We ought to be able to reopen the government and make sure we’re not kicking four million people off of their health insurance,” she said, adding that this “has real ramifications for the entire health care system.”
With health insurers finalizing premiums in October and open enrollment starting Nov. 1, Shaheen warned that millions could “lose their health insurance.”
In her home state, she said four medical facilities face closure due to spending cuts in the sweeping tax and spending bill passed by Republicans and signed by Trump over the summer.
Shaheen called Trump’s signature bill a “big betrayal of the American people” and said its impacts need to be addressed. The Democrats’ proposal in the Senate includes provisions to reverse some of those spending cuts — a demand Republicans have not supported.
She also pushed back sharply on administration arguments that layoffs are inevitable during a shutdown, calling that narrative “disingenuous.”
“From Day One, this administration started firing federal employees,” she said, and named the Food and Drug Administration and the Veterans Administration, which she says had to rehire staff.
“It is totally inaccurate for this administration to claim that it’s the shutdown that’s causing them to fire people. It’s the shutdown that’s giving them more of an excuse, but this has been happening from Day One.”
Despite tensions and mistrust between the two major parties, Shaheen remained resolute about seeking a bipartisan path forward.
“We ought to all be able to agree that the people who need this help the most are the ones who ought to get it,” she said. “I think more and more people are recognizing that, yes, there is some real common ground that we should be able to find.”
With the shutdown’s effects mounting, she added, “That’s why we need to work together to get this open.”
The digital version of this interview was edited by Obed Manuel, Jason Breslow and Luis Clemens.