An afternoon vote was expected to clear the way for a Republican-written bill to keep government funding flowing past midnight after the top Senate Democrat said he would not block it.

The Senate voted to advance a spending bill to fund the government through Sept. 30, narrowly avoiding a government shutdown. The vote exposed a deep rift among Democrats.

Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada were among the first Democrats to publicly back the Republican funding bill, arguing that a shutdown would only strengthen Trump’s hand. They were joined by six more Democrats—Dick Durbin of Illinois,