So Why Exactly Did Democrats Cave on the Shutdown?

"For the past 40-plus days, the Dems and the GOP have been in a Senate stalemate, where Democrats withheld support for a government funding bill in an attempt to include expanded Obamacare subsidies that helped more Americans afford health insurance. Republicans refused and, as they lacked the 60 votes needed to pass this budget resolution on their own, the government shut down."

"The bill to reopen the government includes long-term funding for a few federal bodies (the Agriculture Department, Veterans Affairs, and Congress itself) and temporary funding for all other agencies, up until the bill's expiration date of Jan. 30. There's also a pledge to rehire the hundreds of thousands of federal workers laid off since Oct. 1, provide them back pay, and restrict any other layoff efforts until Jan. 30."

Democrats withheld support for a government funding bill for more than 40 days to press for expanded Obamacare subsidies that would help more Americans afford insurance. Republicans refused and lacked the 60 votes to pass the resolution, producing the longest government shutdown in history. A group of Democratic senators agreed to reopen the government without an extension of the expanded subsidies but secured a promise of a future vote on them. The reopening bill provides long-term funding for the Agriculture Department, Veterans Affairs, and Congress, temporary funding for other agencies until Jan. 30, rehiring and back pay for federal workers, and controversial provisions affecting hemp, legal actions over Jan. 6 phone records, and military facility upgrades.

Read at Slate Magazine