--- title: Democrats Protest Health Care Bill With Late Night Speeches description: Senate Democrats presented a unified front during a protest that went late into the night on Monday. canonical: https://time.com/4824687/health-care-senate-speeches-democrats/ author: Emma Talkoff article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-06-20T05:13:29.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T16:13:28.057Z article:section: Politics og:title: Democrats Protest Health Care Bill Late Into The Night og:description: "This is probably one of the low moments of the United States Senate" og:url: https://time.com/4824687/health-care-senate-speeches-democrats/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c3c5cd11d162624/6988bffc0b72e3e6606ed18b/schumer-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2000 og:image:height: 1125 og:image:alt: Chuck Schumer og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Democrats Protest Health Care Bill Late Into The Night twitter:description: "This is probably one of the low moments of the United States Senate" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c3c5cd11d162624/6988bffc0b72e3e6606ed18b/schumer-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Democrats Protest Health Care Bill With Late Night in the Senate > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=da978101-26fa-4995-a940-a28171e6d80f&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | Subscribers | Open rate | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | 540,000 | 45.6% | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 430,000 | 50.7% | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Daily | 240,000 | 54.1% | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Tuesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 40,000 | 31.7% | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | 85,000 | 37.0% | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | 40,000 | 34.2% | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | 25,000 | 28.6% | Source: TIME, August 2026. Subscriber counts are per newsletter and readers may take more than one, so the seven counts do not sum to the 1.1 million+ unique newsletter audience. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Highest open rate | 54.1%, Health Matters | TIME, August 2026 | | Largest list | 540,000, The Brief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=da978101-26fa-4995-a940-a28171e6d80f&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=da978101-26fa-4995-a940-a28171e6d80f&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (daily health), Worth Your Time (culture, twice weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Emma Talkoff](https://time.com/author/emma-talkoff/) ## Emma Talkoff Jun 20, 2017 5:13 AM UTC  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer at the Capitol in Washington, March, 14, 2017. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer at the Capitol in Washington, March, 14, 2017. J. Scott Applewhite—AP by [Emma Talkoff](https://time.com/author/emma-talkoff/) ## Emma Talkoff Jun 20, 2017 5:13 AM UTC Senate Democrats presented a unified front during a protest that went late into the night on Monday, decrying the secrecy surrounding Republican efforts to craft and pass new healthcare legislation. Taking advantage of parliamentary [procedures that allow them to hold](http://time.com/4824218/senate-gop-republican-democrats-congress-healthcare-ahca-obamacare/) the floor into the night, Democratic Senators took turns excoriating the proposed Republican health care bill and the secrecy and speed with which they say it has been developed. “This is probably one of the low moments of the United States Senate in the way that this process is being done,” said New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker. A number of speakers sharply criticized what Sen. Richard Blumenthal characterized as the “unconscionable and reprehensible” secrecy with which they say the proposed bill is being debated, some sarcastically drawing parallels between the proposed legislation and President Trump’s unreleased [tax returns](http://time.com/4701747/donald-trump-rachel-maddow-taxes/?iid=sr-link1). A small group of Senate Republicans has privately worked on the bill for weeks, declining to hold a hearing or share the text of the proposed legislation with a wider audience in the Senate. That fact drew ire from Senators at Monday night’s protest. “We have 13 Republicans, all men, working behind closed doors to produce legislation which will be brought to the United States Senate at the last moment so the American people don’t know the disaster that it is,” said Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. “So I say to the Republican leadership, what are you afraid of?” As Washington Sen. Patty Murray noted, not only Democrats but some Republican lawmakers have been kept in the dark on the specifics of the bill, a level of secrecy that she called “absurd and unprecedented.” She noted that Trump’s Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price said at a hearing last week that he had not seen the text of the bill. Many Senators drew harsh comparisons to the process of passing the Affordable Care Act eight years earlier, noting that nearly 50 bipartisan hearings had been held to workshop that bill, which ultimately included 150 Republican-proposed amendments. In their criticisms of the shrouded bill, many Senators employed impassioned stories of constituents who would be affected by cuts to Medicaid and other services. Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine, citing a meeting in which he said Trump’s budget director Mick Mulvaney said that cutting programs like Medicaid would allow people to “get off these programs and back in charge of their own lives,” was unforgiving. “What a cruel thought. That reads like something that a villain in a novel by Charles Dickens would say,” Kaine said. “So, what, we now tell a kid who loses the wheelchair that is partly paid for by Medicaid, ‘you’re now back in charge of your own life?’” Republican lawmakers are pushing to pass healthcare legislation before their August recess, and up against pressure to act before the long July 4 weekend. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4824687/health-care-senate-speeches-democrats/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4824687/health-care-senate-speeches-democrats/"},"headline":"Democrats Protest Health Care Bill With Late Night in the Senate","datePublished":"2017-06-20T05:13:29.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T16:13:28.057Z","description":"\"This is probably one of the low moments of the United States Senate\"","url":"https://time.com/4824687/health-care-senate-speeches-democrats/","keywords":["Congress","Health Care","AHCA"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c3c5cd11d162624/6988bffc0b72e3e6606ed18b/schumer-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Emma Talkoff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/emma-talkoff/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2c3c5cd11d162624/6988bffc0b72e3e6606ed18b/schumer-2.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Chuck Schumer","caption":"Chuck Schumer","creditText":"J. Scott Applewhite—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/congress/","name":"Congress"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4824687/health-care-senate-speeches-democrats/","name":"Democrats Protest Health Care Bill With Late Night in the Senate"}}]}] ```