A federal judge ordered the federal government to rehire thousands of employees dismissed from six agencies, saying the Trump administration’s justification for firing the probationary workers had been a “sham.

As of Wednesday night, it looked like a path was emerging whereby Senate Democrats would abandon plans to filibuster the House-passed spending bill (known as a CR, for “continuing resolution”) needed to keep the government from shutting down midnight on Friday.

Schumer (D-New York) said Thursday evening he intends to vote to advance the GOP funding bill the House passed earlier this week, lowering the odds of a federal government shutdown this weekend. “While [Republicans’] bill is very bad,