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The tension over the shutdown within the Democratic caucus was clear on Thursday as shouting could be heard for the third day in a row outside a closed-door party lunch. The growing list of moderates lining up to battle Republicans seemed to indicate a tidal change, one that made a shutdown far more likely.

That momentum was short lived. Just hours later, Schumer backed down in a speech on the Senate floor, with funding for the government scheduled to lapse in less than 30 hours.

Republicans likely need seven other Democrats to join Schumer, who wouldn’t say if there were now enough votes within his party to overcome a filibuster. The necessary ayes could come from number of senators like Gary Peters of Michigan, who was mum on his decision.

Democrats, Schumer indicated, would vote their conscience on the legislation rather than as directed by leadership. But the long-time leader carries much influence within the caucus and he’s likely to amass enough support to avert a shutdown.

A shutdown would be “much worse” for the country than accepting the Republican funding package and “would give Donald Trump and Elon Musk carte blanche to destroy vital government services,” Schumer said.

He added that a shutdown would also make it difficult for Democrats to focus public attention on the party’s criticism of Trump’s economic policies and turmoil in financial markets driven by the president’s tariff threats.

Schumer identified no concessions he received to drop his threat to block the spending bill.

He had declared just a day earlier his party would block a Republican measure to finance the government through Sept. 30 and urged the GOP to accept a Democratic plan for short-term-funding through April 11 instead.

The legislation to fund the government was a rare moment of leverage for Democrats, who have lost the White House and don’t control either chamber of Congress. But Republican leaders rebuffed their efforts to include any constraints on Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

House Republicans passed legislation on Tuesday to finance the government, daring moderate Senate Democrats in the Senate to block the measure over their objections. They then left Washington for a two-week break.

In the Senate, 60 votes are needed to cut off procedural obstacles and Republicans only have 53 senators in the chamber. Republican Rand Paul of Kentucky has said he opposes the GOP spending package.

The pivotal vote to advance the GOP bill is scheduled for early Friday afternoon.

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