The US Congress avoided a shutdown — and the Senate Democratic leader was criticized for it

The US Congress averted a government shutdown at the last minute by passing a House-passed government funding bill. However, the move highlighted deep divisions within the Democratic Party.

This is reported by CNN.

The bill now needs to be signed into law by the US President Donald Trump, who is expected to do so soon.

Senate Democrats are under intense pressure to oppose a bill backed by Donald Trump. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and several other senators have faced a wave of criticism after helping to pave the way for its passage.

The intra-party tensions among Democrats became public after the vote. It also highlighted that the Democratic Party does not yet seem capable of standing up to Trump and the Republican Party.

90 minutes before Senate Republicans averted a shutdown, Chuck Schumer and nine other Democratic senators supported the billʼs passage through the procedural stage, despite pressure from their own party to block the vote. The bill needed a simple majority to pass, and nearly all of those Democrats voted against it.

Chuck Schumer said Democrats had two bad options: allow a shutdown that could last months to defy Trump, or agree to a Republican bill that Democrats say would cut spending on veteransʼ health care and funding for firefighters and police in Washington.

"I believe this is the best way to minimize the harm that the Trump administration can cause to Americans," he explained in his vote to advance the bill.

However, many Democrats in the Senate and House of Representatives are outraged by Schumerʼs actions, considering them a serious concession to Trump.

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