Outraged voters and politicians alike are demanding to know why a group of Senate Democrats sided with Republicans to reopen the government without securing any concessions on preserving health care coverage — just days after the party swept last week’s elections with a burst of energy fueled, in part, by its willingness to fight back.

Democrats had spent weeks arguing that the longest shutdown in history was necessary to make sure health care subsidies administered under the Affordable Care Act were preserved in the next spending package. They won’t be: Instead, Senate Republicans agreed to hold a separate vote on ACA subsidies by the end of the year. With Republicans in the majority, Democrats are almost guaranteed to lose.

Speaking to The Intercept, a key Democratic leader who voted

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