Schumer said he would help advance a GOP spending bill because a shutdown "has consequences for America that are much, much worse."

The U.S. Senate on Friday was poised to pass a stopgap spending bill and avert a partial government shutdown, after Democrats backed down in a standoff driven by anger over President Donald Trump's campaign to slash the federal workforce.

Chuck Schumer, the top Democrat in the US Senate, said he would support a Republican stop-gap funding bill, increasing the likelihood that Congress will avoid the risk of a government shutdown. There was a risk that President Donald Trump and close adviser Elon Musk would use a shutdown — which will take place early on Saturday if a funding measure is not passed — as an executive power grab,