Senate Democrats are preparing to offer an alternative stopgap spending bill that would avert an Oct. 1 government shutdown as they dig in against the Republican majority.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) told reporters as he left a caucus lunch Tuesday that Democrats will offer a short-term spending bill that includes health care language as well as restrictions on President Donald Trump’s ability to rescind funding previously approved by Congress.

“We think we’re going to have … an alternative that American people will like a whole lot better,” Kaine said.

Another person granted anonymity to disclose private discussions confirmed the Democrats’ plan, adding that the proposal could be released as soon as Tuesday evening.

The idea of formally offering an alternative bill came up during the closed-door lunch and comes after top Democratic leaders have pushed for bipartisan negotiations without outlining what specific policy proposals they are seeking in return for their support for a weeks-long spending bill.

House Republicans rolled out a continuing resolution Tuesday that funds the government through Nov. 21, tacking on $30 million for lawmaker security and another $58 million in security assistance requested by the White House for the Supreme Court and executive branch.

But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries immediately panned the bill in a joint statement and vowed to oppose it, citing its lack of health care provisions.

Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), who is line to be the No. 2 Senate Democrat starting in 2027, also said Tuesday he would be a “no” after helping advance a previous GOP-written stopgap in March.

He noted to reporters that Trump has said Republicans don’t have to “deal with the Democrats” on spending.

“Godspeed,” Schatz said.

Republicans will need at least seven Democrats to help advance their funding bill — and likely more, with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) saying Tuesday that he will not support it. Only one Democrat so far, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, has publicly indicated he will vote for it.

Democrats appear increasingly confident Trump will be blamed for any potential shutdown after he said during a Friday Fox News interview that he doesn’t need Democratic votes. They also believe the political climate has moved in their favor since the March funding fight, based on their ability to recruit top Senate candidates and brewing divisions among Republicans over Trump’s efforts to circumvent Congress on spending cuts.

“It’s much different now,” Schumer told reporters. “The Republicans are in a much weaker position now than they were then.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune opened the door Tuesday to meeting with Schumer but said that the New York Democrat hadn’t called him or come to his office.

Schumer brushed off those comments, noting that he and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have sent two letters to Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson requesting a meeting.

“Give me a break,” Schumer said. “We have asked to meet with Thune and Johnson for over six weeks.”

The yearslong feud between longtime political rivals Adam Schiff and Kash Patel reached a fever pitch Tuesday afternoon, complete with a shouting match that briefly derailed an ongoing Senate Judiciary Committee hearing.

The confrontation occurred when Schiff, a Democratic senator from California, questioned Patel, the FBI director, about the Justice Department’s decision to move Ghislaine Maxwell — an associate of the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — to a lower security prison facility.

Schiff asked Patel whether he believed the American people were “stupid” enough to believe his answer that the Bureau of Prisons independently made the decision to move Maxwell, rather than it being a politically-motivated move by the White House.

“What I am doing is protecting this country … and combating the weaponization of intelligence by the likes of you,” Patel said, interrupting Schiff. “We have countlessly proven you to be a liar in Russiangate, in January 6. You are the biggest fraud to ever sit in the United States Senate.”

Patel went on to call him “a political buffoon at best.”

The animosity between the two men dates back, at least, to Schiff’s time as chair of the House Intelligence Committee, where he led the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Patel, then a House Intelligence staffer, was tasked with working to discredit the probe.

Five years later, Schiff served on a select committee to investigate the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol; Patel, meanwhile, was an advocate for many of the incarcerated rioters.

Years later, in the lead-up to Patel’s confirmation to lead the FBI, Senate Judiciary Democrats pointed to the fact that Patel reposted a meme on social media that featured the likeness of Patel taking a chainsaw to Schiff’s head. Another photo shared by Democrats showed an image of Patel appearing to hold an object with Schiff’s face beside a catapult.

More recently, Patel has accused Schiff of moving to leak incriminating information about President Donald Trump while Intelligence Committee chair. Schiff, through a spokesperson, has denied the claims.

As the shouting on Tuesday continued, Sen. Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Judiciary panel, pleaded with chair Chuck Grassley to take control of the situation. Grassley pounded his gavel repeatedly, saying, “Both of you be quiet.”

It was perhaps the most heated moment of the questioning on Tuesday, during which Patel was pressed on his handling of the Epstein matter and the investigation into the assassination of conservative political commentator Charlie Kirk, among other topics.

But it was not the first explosive exchange of the day. Patel also tangled with Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), who told the FBI director, “I think you’re not gonna be around long” — a suggestion Trump would eventually turn on him.

That comment set off a similar shouting match in which Patel called Booker “an embarrassment to your country” and Booker shouted back, “I’m not afraid of you.”

In a social media post after the conclusion of the hearing, Schiff contended that Patel went before lawmakers to “save his job” and argued he was “performing for an audience of one.” The White House, meanwhile, congratulated Patel for going after “Pencil Neck” — the president’s nickname for Schiff.

Patel will go before the House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday.

Democratic leaders signaled Tuesday they will oppose the GOP-led stopgap funding bill just hours after it was unveiled — and just two weeks before a possible government shutdown.

“The House Republican-only spending bill fails to meet the needs of the American people and does nothing to stop the looming healthcare crisis,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a joint statement. “At a time when families are already being squeezed by higher costs, Republicans refuse to stop Americans from facing double-digit hikes in their health insurance premiums.”

House GOP leaders are teeing up the legislation to extend government funding by seven weeks for a vote later this week. Democrats are under immense pressure from their base to mount a resistance to Blue Light News GOP’s funding moves, and while party leaders have decided to rally around health care, they have not laid out specific demands except to demand Republicans negotiate.

In a separate statement, the two top Democratic appropriators, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), said Tuesday that Republican leaders abandoned bipartisan talks on a spending stopgap that would include three full-year funding bills.

“We stand ready to continue down this path that would give us time to complete full-year bills, if Speaker [Mike] Johnson backs away from this partisan move,” Murray and DeLauro said Tuesday. “House Republican leadership has walked away from negotiations and are now threatening a shutdown by trying to jam through a funding bill on their terms alone.”

Johnson said on a brief interview Tuesday there was “no reason” for Democrats to block the stopgap “because it’s clean and short-term — it’s not a partisan exercise.”

Asked if Republicans would allow a shutdown if Senate Democrats block the measure, or if Republicans would then work on a backup plan to keep the government open, Johnson replied: “We’re gonna see what happens.”

Meredith Lee Hill and Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.