Veteran Democrats privately believed Chuck Schumer’s decision on the shutdown was inevitable. Others were ready for the top Senate Democrat to lead them into their first big battle against President Donald Trump — and instead have been left fuming.

Top U.S. Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer on Thursday said he would vote to advance a Republican stopgap funding bill, signaling that his party would provide the votes to avert a government shutdown.

Schumer relented one day after he vowed Senate Democrats would thwart the "partisan" measure, saying the "chaos" of a government shutdown would be a worse option.

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,

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer dropped his threat to block a Republican spending bill, opening the way to avoid a US government shutdown.