Top Democrat Schumer backs Republican spending bill to avert shutdown

The US may avert a looming government shutdown after a top Democrat said he would support a Republican funding bill to keep it open.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced his reversal on Thursday, after vowing he and other Democrats would block the bill, which would fund the government through September.

It is possible a handful of other Democrats might now elect to vote to approve the measure, though it remains unclear.

Democrats face two options: Help Republicans pass the bill or stand their ground and oppose it. If they oppose the bill, it is likely they would take the brunt of the blame for the shutdown, which would start at 23:59 ET on Friday.

"There are no winners in a government shutdown," Schumer said in his announcement on the Senate floor.

"It's not really a decision, it's a Hobson's choice: Either proceed with the bill before us or risk Donald Trump throwing America into the chaos of a shutdown.

"This in my view is no choice at all."

He called the Republican-led funding bill deeply partisan but voiced concerns about a shutdown.

He said it would give Trump and Elon Musk, who have been leading an effort to slash federal spending, a "carte blanche to destroy vital government services at a significantly faster rate than they can right now".

Votes on the measure are expected on Friday afternoon.

Although Democrats are in the minority in the Senate, they have a procedural ace in the hole. Senate rules require 60 votes out its 100-member chamber to pass most legislation.

So while the 47 Democrats and left-leaning independents don't have the numbers to approve their own funding bill, they can block the Republican measure if they mostly stick together.

That's exactly the course many liberals, desperate for Democrats to take a more forceful stand against the Trump administration, have insisted the party pursue.

The political brinksmanship has its risks.

Some conservatives would relish a government shutdown that suspends programmes and services they see as wasteful or counterproductive. Musk himself has said that such a scenario would help his team better identify "non-essential" government functions that they could then permanently end as part of his Department of Government Efficiency.

Republicans would also be quick to blame any shutdown, and the disruptions it causes, on the Democrats. And an extended shutdown would directly affect the very workers and programmes that Democrats are trying to protect.

On Wednesday, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed the bill that keeps the lights on through September – with strings attached.

The new resolution boosts military spending by $6bn (£4.6bn) over current levels, while slashing $13bn from non-defence programmes and allowing more money for border enforcement.

It also contains a provision that makes it harder for Democrats to force a vote on rescinding Trump's tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China.

Many Democrats have said they would not support the House resolution and demanded the ability to modify it.