Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who represents more than 144,000 federal employees in his home state, announced Sunday that he will support An agreement to reopen the government Even if it does not ensure an extension of the increased health insurance premiums.
However, this legislation would require the Trump administration to reinstate thousands of federal employees laid off during the shutdown during a reduction in force (RIF), and it would prevent the President’s Office of Management and Budget from attempting additional layoffs until January 30, 2026.
If the continuing solution worked out by negotiators is extended beyond Jan. 30, the moratorium on firing federal employees would continue through the next spending stopgap period, according to a person familiar with the deal.
Kaine said that the safety of federal employees was an important factor in his decision to support the deal.
And he said a guaranteed Senate vote on increasing subsidies under the Affordable Care Act is progress, even though it is uncertain whether the Senate has 60 votes to pass a bill to do so, and a House vote on the issue is not certain.
“I have long said that to earn their vote, we need to move forward on fixing the Republican health care mess and protecting the federal workforce,” Kaine said in a statement.
“This legislation will protect federal employees from baseless firings, reinstate those wrongfully terminated during the shutdown, and ensure federal employees receive back pay, as required by the law I passed in 2019. This is an important step that will help federal employees and all Americans who rely on government services,” he said.
Kaine laid out a description of protections for federal workers during a two-hour Senate Democratic caucus meeting Sunday night.
