The Senate passed a continuing resolution with bipartisan support late Friday, closely avoiding a government shutdown. 

The spending bill, which funds the government through September of this year, was in some doubt as Senate Democrats wavered over whether to fight the bill and risk taking the blame for a government shutdown or to support it and appear to capitulate to the wishes of the Trump administration.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) announced his support midday Friday, which led to a series of sharp criticisms from a number of prominent Democrats. Sixty-six House Democrats signed a letter, obtained by the Washington Post, opposing the decision and urging Senate Democrats to vote against the resolution. The letter’s signatories wrote that they “express our strong opposition to the passage of a partisan continuing resolution that potentially legitimizes President Trump and the Republican party’s dismantling of government.” Among the harshest of Schumer’s critics was prominent Democrat Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), who called the minority leader’s decision “a tremendous mistake.”

Despite the open discord in the party, however, nine other members of the Senate Democratic caucus joined Schumer in a vote for bringing the bill to the floor, which passed 62–38. Joining Schumer were Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Dick Durbin (D-IL), John Fetterman (D-PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Margaret Wood Hassan (D-NH), Angus King (I-ME), Gary Peters (D-MI), Brian Schatz (D-HI), and Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH). Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) voted no. The resolution itself passed on a mostly party-line vote 54–46, with King and Shaheen joining Republicans in voting for and Paul joining the Democrats in voting against the bill.

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