Why 10 Senate Democrats say they sided with Republicans to avert a shutdown

Ten Senate Democrats voted Friday to help Republicans break a 60-vote filibuster and advance a Trump-backed government funding bill that paves the way for Congress to avoid a midnight shutdown deadline.

The vote came at a steep price for Democrats, with the party fracturing over Sen. Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) decision to support advancing the measure. Schumer’s decision resulted in calls from several congressional Democrats to oust him as minority leader and to primary any Democrats who sided with Republicans over what critics say was a failure to hold the line against President Donald Trump’s agenda.

Schumer and other Democrats who voted to advance the stopgap spending bill cited fears a shutdown would only further enable...