Democrats didn’t get what they were looking for after pushing the nation into its longest shutdown on record, but to Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., that doesn’t necessarily mean they came away empty-handed.  Kaine said that although Democrats failed to achieve concessions on the emergency Obamacare COVID-era subsidies at the center of the 41-day standoff, it was the resolution’s language on federal employees that ultimately drew his support. Kaine,...

Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., was the only Republican who broke with his party and voted no on the test vote to break a filibuster on the deal to reopen the government. Paul voted nay because he wanted a guarantee of a change in the bill regarding hemp. The measure prevents “unregulated sales” of “intoxicating hemp-based” products at gas stations and small retailers. It preserves the sale of non-intoxicating...

House Democrats attempted a last-ditch maneuver to secure an extension of COVID-19-era emergency Obamacare subsidies on Monday.  Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., took to the floor in a pro forma session asking the mostly empty chamber to unanimously approve its passage. “I ask unanimous consent to extend the ACA tax credits,” Ivey said, referring to Obamacare. HOUSE REPUBLICANS DIVIDED OVER OBAMACARE AS GOP EYES FIX AFTER SHUTDOWN If successful,...