Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., accused MSNBC host Katy Tur of “overdramatizing” conflicts within the Democratic Party during a tense exchange over the government shutdown on Monday.
Kaine was one of eight Senate Democratic caucus members who broke ranks on Sunday to vote in favor of a continuing resolution that could help end the record-breaking shutdown, which has lasted nearly six weeks.
Tur reported that some Democrats were beyond “angry” over Kaine’s vote and could threaten to tear the party apart in a civil war.
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“It seems like this is ripping the party apart at a time where it felt like the party was coming back together post-elections,” Tur said. “How do you convince your fellow Democrats to stay together on this, and how do you convince voters across the country to believe in Democrats again?”
“Can I just say, ‘ripping the party apart’?” Kaine said. “I think you’re overdramatizing this. I mean, I know the news business is to try to make everything like the biggest crisis since the Cuban Missile Crisis—”
“Hold on, hold on. Don’t say it’s me,” Tur interrupted, while Kaine kept insisting that “there’s differences of opinion” in the party.
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“I will quote your fellow Democrats,” Tur said. “Gavin Newsom calls it ‘pathetic.’ Hakeem Jeffries ‘complete BS.’ AOC says, ‘This is not about a base of voters. This is about people’s lives.’ Chris Murphy says it ‘makes Donald Trump stronger. This is a moment that demands fighters, not folders.’ I mean, this is me quoting Democrats. I’m not making things up. I’m just reading what people are saying and reporting it.”
“You could have read the same quotes last month, a month ago, a month ago, a month ago,” Kaine said. “Will Rogers, 100 years ago, ‘I don’t believe in organized politics. That’s why I’m a Democrat.’ We’re a big tent. We have different points of view. I’ve been doing this for 31 years. This is, by far, a minor-league issue within the Democratic Party.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to Kaine’s office for comment.
Sunday’s vote came as the government shutdown entered its 40th day, solidifying its status as the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The final vote was 60-40, the minimal threshold needed to pass the bill.
The resolution was the first in a series needed in the Senate to modify the original House-passed continuing resolution and combine it with the three-bill spending package and updated CR, which, if passed, would reopen the government until Jan. 30, 2026. The legislation still needs to be approved by the House before it is sent to President Donald Trump‘s desk for signature.
