Senate Democrats appear reluctant to block a House continuing resolution that would avert a government shutdown and provide federal funding through September.
Despite criticizing the House proposal, Democrats fear a government shutdown could give President Donald Trump and his Department of Government Efficiency more leverage to streamline the bureaucracy, The Hill reported.
In fact, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., stopped short of declaring the House bill dead on arrival in the Senate, the outlet added.
That is certainly different than Schumer's House counterpart, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., whose caucus members are expected to remain unified in voting against the CR.
Democrats say Trump's downsizing effort, spearheaded by Elon Musk, runs roughshod over Congress' authority over spending matters.
Schumer briefed his leadership team Monday evening.
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said the minority leader did not outline an official position but briefed senators on "the outrageous things" in the House bill, CNN reported.
Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., cut off a reporter's question about the choice of either accepting the House bill or risking a shutdown.
"I'm not answering 'if' questions: I'm answering 'what do I think of the bill?' It's a bad bill," Kaine said, CNN reported.
Some Democrats are worried a shutdown could embolden Trump, Musk, and DOGE, which has been tasked to streamline government and its spending.
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., said he is concerned about "Musk, who is shutting down parts of the government already."
"Who knows what he's going to want to open back up?" Kelly said, The Hill reported.
"That is a huge risk. Maybe they decide that entire government agencies don't need to exist anymore."
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Democrats want Republicans to accept a short-term funding stopgap that would allow for negotiations toward a bipartisan spending bill that would avoid cuts to nondefense programs.
"We need a short-term CR," Warren said. "The Republicans are already shutting down government. We need a short-term CR so that we can get our funding back on [track]."
The GOP-controlled Congress aimed to move ahead this week to keep the government funded and avert a partial shutdown beginning Saturday.
House Republicans, including those who repeatedly bucked Speaker Mike Johnson's budget plans in recent years, have signaled support for the bill. That would keep the government funded at its current levels through Sept. 30, when the current fiscal year ends.
Reuters contributed to this story.