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Which 6 House Democrats voted with Republicans to end the government shutdown?

Joey Garrison, USA TODAY
Updated
2 min read

WASHINGTON ‒ Six House Democrats voted with Republicans on Nov. 12 to pass a funding bill to reopen the federal government , bucking most of their party to end the nation's longest-ever shutdown .

The group of six Democrats is made up of all moderates, each from swing congressional districts, including one Democrat who has opted against reelection in 2026.

The shutdown deal passed 222-209 in the Republican-controlled House, meaning the Democrats' votes weren't necessary to put the bill over the finish line. Only two House Republicans voted against the spending bill, which ends a 43-day shutdown that left millions of Americans unable to travel or afford food.

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More: House passes deal to end longest government shutdown, Trump to sign tonight. Live updates

President Donald Trump shakes hands with the Speaker of the House Mike Johnson after signing the bill package to re-open the federal government in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, DC, on Nov. 12, 2025. Congress on Wednesday ended the longest government shutdown in US history, 43 days that paralyzed Washington and left hundreds of thousands of workers unpaid while Republicans and Democrats played a high-stakes blame game. The Republican-led House of Representatives voted largely along party lines to approve a Senate-passed package that will reopen federal departments and agencies, as many Democrats fume over what they see as a capitulation by party leaders.

The deal, brokered by eight Senate Democrats who broke from their party ranks, funds the government through Jan. 30. It was opposed by the majority of Democrats because it lacked what they demanded for weeks: an extension of expiring subsidies in the Affordable Care Act. Instead, the bill only guarantees a Senate vote in December on the health care subsidies.

More: A last-minute 'slush fund' snag and 4 other key shutdown-ending moments

In a concession to Democrats, the bill reverses Trump's recent layoffs of federal government that he made during the shutdown.

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The six Democrats who voted for the bill are:

Henry Cuellar, D-Texas

Cullear, a member of Congress since 2005, represents a congressional district along the Rio Grande on the southern border of Texas, a region that has increasingly turned red politically.

Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) questions Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas during a Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing on the DHS budget request on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 10, 2024.
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) questions Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas during a Homeland Security Subcommittee hearing on the DHS budget request on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., April 10, 2024.

Don Davis, D-North Carolina

Davis, first elected in 2022, won a close race in 2024 to continue representing North Carolina's 1st congressional district.

Jared Golden, D-Maine

Golden since 2019 has represented Maine's 2nd congressional district ‒ widely considered the most conservative district held by a Democrat. He announced last week that he won't seek reelection in 2026.

Adam Gray, D-California

Gray, a freshman congressman, narrowly won his 2024 election in one of Democrats' few pickups during the last election cycle.

Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Washington

Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) arrives for a vote series at the U.S. Capitol on September 25, 2024 in Washington, DC.
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) arrives for a vote series at the U.S. Capitol on September 25, 2024 in Washington, DC.

Gluesenkamp Perez, first elected to her rural Washington district in 2022, is co-chair of the centrist-minded Democratic Blue Dog Coalition. She won her 2024 reelection by about 3 percentage points.

Tom Suozzi, D-New York

Democratic congressional candidate for New York's 3rd district, Tom Suozzi, delivers his victory speech during his election night party, following a special election to fill the vacancy created by Republican George Santos' ouster from Congress, in Woodbury, New York.
Democratic congressional candidate for New York's 3rd district, Tom Suozzi, delivers his victory speech during his election night party, following a special election to fill the vacancy created by Republican George Santos' ouster from Congress, in Woodbury, New York.

Suozzi was elected in 2024 to fill the Long Island-area seat of disgraced former Republican Rep. George Santos. He previously served in Congress from 2017 to 2023.

Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Which 6 House Democrats voted with Republicans to end the shutdown?

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