Tim Kaine says bipartisan group of senators key to facilitating deal ending shutdown

Sen. Tim Kaine said Monday that the group of 30 bipartisan senators made the difference in getting a deal together to end the government shutdown.

“We’re sitting around in Susan’s office again and again, and then we’re dispatching and talking to the leaders and then going back and doing the same thing,” Mr. Kaine, Virginia Democrat, said on CNN, referring to Sen. Susan Collins, Maine Republican.

He said that everyone in the group agreed on many of the main points proposed in the continuing resolution like funding the Children’s Health Insurance Program and paying the military, which led to them ultimately deciding to come together on the measure.

“Everybody in that room said we’ve got to find permanent protections for Dreamers, and that’s really important,” Mr. Kaine said, adding that the senators agreed that keeping the government funded was equally as important.

Lawmakers came to a deal midday Monday to reopen the government with a funding bill through Feb 8.