A deal to end the longest federal government shutdown ever appears to be in hand in the U.S. Senate. But Vermont’s senators, Peter Welch and Bernie Sanders, are voting ‘no.’

The plan to re-open the government does not meet Democrats’ central demand: that enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies be extended. Instead, the eight senators who split from Democrats to vote alongside Republicans settled for a commitment from GOP leaders to schedule a vote on the subsidies before the end of the year.

It was no surprise that Sanders, an independent, was against the deal. But Welch, a Democrat, was once perceived as a swing vote in shutdown talks.

In an interview with Vermont Public, Welch said Monday that he left negotiations when it became clear that Republicans weren’t willing to cut a deal th

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