Democrats have the momentum. They can’t stop now.

Trump and his fellow Republicans are finally in a very bad and difficult place.

Photo by Andy Feliciotti on Unsplash

As readers of my columns know, I pushed early on for Democrats in the Senate to take a stand against the cruel and entirely partisan Republican spending plan and work hard and relentlessly to provide necessary relief for millions of Americans who otherwise could lose their health insurance, putting further strain on hospitals, causing many human tragedies, and creating a spike in bankruptcies over medical costs. At minimum, the action leading to a shutdown would make it clear that President Donald Trump and congressional Republicans were the ones who would trigger that set of disasters.

To their credit, Senate Democrats did the right thing and have held firm. After the stunning election results—a massive sweep by Democrats across many states—they now are in an even stronger position to create an agreement to save the health coverage of those Americans. I expect serious bipartisan negotiations very soon.

Here are the basic possibilities:

First, Senate Democrats and Republicans could reach agreement on an extension of the Affordable Care Act coverage subsidies at issue, have it pass the Senate by a wide margin, and have House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) kill it. That would put the entire onus on House Republicans, who enjoy a three-vote margin in the chamber, not just for trying to kill the subsidies but for prolonging the shutdown, with its burdens increasing daily. And whether via a discharge petition or Johnson reversing course, the House inevitably would have to concede, after a massive self-inflicted wound.

Second, we could get an agreement that would be supported in both the House and the Senate to extend the subsidies for a year—meaning reaching the cliff again just days before the pivotal midterm elections.

Third, we could find a deal to extend the subsidies for three years, taking that issue away as a midterm campaign one but enabling congressional Democrats a big victory dance—Republicans backed down, and, as a consequence, the lives and wellbeing of millions were protected.

There is another possibility: Senate Republicans, under pressure from Trump, could eliminate the filibuster and jam through their continuing resolution without dealing with the healthcare issue and on a partisan vote. That would not only violate their solemn pledge to leave the rule alone but also underscore that they manipulated the rules to ensure that they could take away health insurance or make it less affordable for tens of millions of Americans, including many Trump voters. The price would be a heavy one, and it would also open the door for Democrats, if they were able in the 2028 elections to retake the reins of power, to pass a very different and wide-ranging agenda, including campaign-finance and voting reforms, adding Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico as states, reforming the Supreme Court, and much more.

Democrats drew the line, and the result was a shutdown, putting Trump and his fellow Republicans in a very bad and difficult place. Finally.

Norman Ornstein is a political scientist, co-host of the podcast “Words Matter,” and author of books, including “It’s Even Worse Than It Looks: How the American Constitutional System Collided With the New Politics of Extremism.”

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