Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) became the third Senate Democrat to publicly support advancing the House-passed stopgap funding bill, as a potential government shutdown looms. The Senate will vote on cloture Friday for the spending bill that would keep the government funded at current levels through the end of September,

A vote to end debate on the House-passed stopgap spending bill to avoid a government shutdown will take place on Friday afternoon ahead of the late night deadline.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate on Friday was poised to pass a stopgap spending bill and avert a partial government shutdown, after Democrats backed down in a standoff driven by anger over President Donald Trump's campaign to slash the federal workforce.