Senate Democrats were able to tolerate the government shutdown they orchestrated for only a few days before sheepishly agreeing to reopen it early Monday afternoon. This was the smartest move they made during their strange 60-hour protest.

On Friday, Democrats said they couldn’t agree to a funding bill through Feb. 16 that included six years of funding for CHIP, and that protection for Dreamers had to be on the bill in the form of a new Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

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