Why a handful of Democratic senators decided to end the shutdown

Sen. Tim Kaine (Va.), who nearly a decade ago served as Hillary Clinton’s running mate when she lost the presidency to Donald Trump, was the eighth Democratic senator to back a centrist deal the Senate is set to approve Monday that is likely to soon end the longest shutdown in American history.

Kaine’s top priority was to protect thousands of federal workers the Trump administration was attempting to fire during the government closure.

To win over Kaine, Senate Ma...