Schumer backs away from shutdown, says he’ll vote to advance GOP bill

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer privately told fellow Democrats during a closed-door lunch Thursday that he would help advance a House GOP funding bill — a strong indication that Senate Democrats will ultimately back down from forcing a government shutdown on Saturday.

Schumer’s closed-door comments, confirmed by two people granted anonymity to disclose his private remarks, comes amid days of Democratic agonizing about the possible shutdown. Their dilemma was forced by the House’s approval Tuesday of a funding patch through September, one that was written without Democratic input.

Schumer has not publicly reiterated his comments, which were first reported by The New York Times, but he is expected to speak from the Senate floor on Thursday evening. Republicans will need eight Democrats to help them break a 60-vote filibuster of the House GOP bill.

Senate Democrats held another closed-door meeting on Thursday but did not emerge with a unified strategy. A growing number of Senate Democrats have vowed to oppose the House GOP bill, including not helping it get over 60-vote procedural hurdles. But some Democrats have floated that they could help advance the bill in exchange for a vote on their preferred alternative, a 30-day stopgap that would make room to restart bipartisan spending talks.

Neither Schumer nor Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) have indicated that they’ve reached an agreement.