Top U.S. Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer told colleagues behind closed doors on Thursday that he would vote to advance a stopgap funding bill, signaling that his party would provide the votes to avert a government shutdown,

The top Senate Democrat said his members were not ready to provide the votes to allow the Republican-written stopgap spending measure to pass ahead of a Friday night deadline. There is still time for a reversal.

After meeting with his conference, the Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said "Republicans do not have the votes" to advance the House-approved measure.