Congress candidate blasts shutdown deal approved by her mom

The deal to end the government shutdown isn’t just dividing Democrats, it’s dividing families.

Stefany Shaheen, a Democrat running for Congress in New Hampshire and the daughter of retiring Granite State Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, blasted the shutdown deal because it doesn’t include a provision demanded by many Democrats to extend federal health care subsidies.

"We need to both end this shutdown and extend" the health care subsidies, Stefany Shaheen wrote on social media. "Otherwise, no deal."

Jeanne Shaheen was among eight Democrats who approved the shutdown deal. Her daughter is running in the Democratic primary to replace U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas, who is running for the Senate seat being vacated by Jeanne Shaheen.

Many Democrats are criticizing the shutdown deal, which could become an issue in the primary where Stefany Shaheen is running against five other Democrats.

"Making this deal is malpractice," Rep. Mikie Sherrill, a New Jersey Democrat who won the state's governor's race last week, wrote on social media.

Several Democratic candidates for Senate in 2026 also expressed their disapproval with compromise.

"This moment demands fighters, not folders," said James Talarico, a Democratic state representative in Texas who is running for U.S. Senate.

Democrats fought for weeks to include an extension of Affordable Care Act health insurance premium subsidies in any deal to end the shutdown. The subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year and send premiums skyrocketing for millions of Americans.

But the deal approved in a 60-40 vote by the Senate only ensures a vote during the second week of December on extending the subsidies.

Contributing: Joey Garrison