How one Alabama senator's quiet diplomacy helped end longest shutdown in US history
One Senate Republican proved that it's still possible to bridge the chasm between the aisles after brokering an end to the longest government shutdown in history.The 43-day impasse in Congress...
By Fox News · Fox News
One Senate Republican proved that it's still possible to bridge the chasm between the aisles after brokering an end to the longest government shutdown in history. The 43-day impasse in Congress may have ended in the House, but it was in the Senate that Sen. Katie Britt , R-Ala., worked to build an old-fashioned bipartisan coalition to jump-start the stalled chamber. It took several weeks, numerous conversations and reconstructing broken trust between Senate Republicans and Democrats to pull off what would become a bipartisan package to reopen the government. HOW CLOSED-DOOR NEGOTIATIONS AND A GUARANTEE ENDED LONGEST GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN ON RECORD And it was something that Britt, in an interview with Fox News Digital, contended she was uniquely positioned to do. She was chief of staff for former Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., and knew how the sausage was made in the upper chamber. She also had longstanding relationships with some of the key Democratic negotiators, like Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., who ultimately joined most Republicans to reopen the government. For Britt, who chairs the Homeland Security Appropriations Committee, the key to reopening the government was funding the government through spending bills. "I'm very grateful for those on the other side of the aisle that had the courage to step forward and say, you know, we're not going to allow everyday Americans to suffer as a result of keeping this government closed," she said. "I do think what we saw was a lot of people that were listening to their political consultants instead of the actual constituency that they serve." "Because clearly, I think a lot of people had lost sight of the fact that we were in this place because we hadn't passed appropriations bills," Britt continued. SENATE REACHES TEMPORARY TRUCE TO END RECORD SHUTDOWN, BUT JANUARY BATTLE LOOMS During the last session of Congress, the chambers were split. Republicans held a tenuous grip on the House while Schumer and Senate Democrats controlle…