Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) denied the Democratic Party is holding federal workers hostage during the government shutdown, saying past comments he made opposing this tactic were on a “long-term” healthcare issue.

The government is 12 days into a shutdown as of Sunday, and Senate Republicans need five more Democratic votes to reopen the government. Murphy, who has voted against all of the Republican bills to reopen the government, previously spoke against lawmakers trying to “use” the nation’s security and federal workers as “hostages” during negotiations to end a 2018 government shutdown.