Just minutes after announcing his support for a bipartisan deal to end the government shutdown, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) beelined toward Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.) on the Senate floor to shake her hand.
Britt had spent the last few days quietly working to secure White House support for Kaine’s push to reverse the administration’s mass layoffs of federal workers during the shutdown. The White House got on board, even endorsing back pay for federal workers.
But Kaine, who represents 320,000 federal employees, needed more than that: A ban on future layoffs, known as reductions-in-force (RIFs). The White House initially rejected this but eventually agreed. The reason why, Kaine said, was Britt.
“I said, ‘Thank you for helping convince the White House on the RIFs,’” Kaine said of his handshake with Britt. “They really did not want to do it… And I said, ‘I’m a no if you don’t do that.’”
“When I explained it to her, she said that’s a reasonable ask. But the White House didn’t want to do it,” Kaine added. “And she was the go-between on that.”
The bipartisan deal to end the longest shutdown in history would’ve collapsed without Kaine’s support, and Republicans credited Britt with helping get that.
Britt’s maneuver was just the latest example of the first-term senator flexing her dealmaking prowess and MAGA bona fides by leveraging her close ties with the White House, including Vice President JD Vance, to resolve cross-aisle impasses.
In an interview, Britt acknowledged that Kaine is an outspoken opponent of President Donald Trump, but argued he was just fighting on behalf of his constituents. Britt worked the phones well past midnight for several days leading up to Sunday’s successful procedural vote, keeping in close touch with GOP leaders.
“The question was put on the table — how can they be guaranteed backpay, how can they be guaranteed… getting their job back, making sure they can maintain it,” Britt said. “Those were all conversations that drew Sen. Kaine to the table as he fought for the people he serves.”
Bright future? At a GOP Conference meeting on Sunday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune called Britt a “rock star” for helping resolve one of the thorniest issues in the funding talks.
First elected in 2022, Britt keeps her head down and doesn’t seek out media attention. Britt’s colleagues have taken notice of her eagerness to help address major policy and political stalemates — both inside the Senate GOP Conference as well as with Democrats and the White House.
Britt, 43, once served as chief of staff to former Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Richard Shelby (R-Ala.), giving her a deep understanding of how the sausage is made. Britt was even given a seat on the panel as a freshman lawmaker, which is rare.
But since Britt arrived in the Senate, the Appropriations Committee has become increasingly irrelevant. The Trump administration has sought to undermine Congress’ power of the purse, and both parties have failed in recent years to prioritize appropriations bills for floor time.
Britt viewed the shutdown deadlock as a chance to get the appropriations process back on track. A few weeks into the shutdown, Britt approached Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer about reviving efforts to pass a conferenced version of the first three-bill minibus.
That measure was eventually added to the funding package that reopened the government. Britt pitched Democrats on using it as a way to wield one of their few levers of power in a GOP-controlled Washington.
“We need opportunities to work together and to build trust, and I felt like this was a good way to do that,” Britt said.
