New York U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer had been quite boisterous all week regarding congressional Republicans’ plan to keep the government funded through September, which had squeezed through the House of Representatives almost exclusively on party lines. But that changed rather quickly.

In Schumer’s chamber, 10 Senate Democrats joined Republicans to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to pass the budget with a deadline of midnight on Saturday. On Wednesday, Schumer said the GOP didn’t have enough Democratic votes to advance the funding stopgap bill past a filibuster.

"Our caucus is unified on a clean [bill] that will keep the government open and give Congress time to negotiate bipartisan legislation that can pass. We should vote on that," Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor that day.

But his opposition evaporated by Thursday evening, saying he would support to advance the measure, believing “the potential for a shutdown has consequences for America that are much, much worse." Schumer also said he believes a shutdown would give President Donald Trump and Elon Musk free rein to gut the government.

“For Donald Trump, a shutdown would be a gift. It would be the best distraction he could ask for from his awful agenda," Schumer said.

As Democrats try to remain united as the opposition to Trump’s agenda, Schumer's colleagues in the House, who had near-unanimous opposition to the legislation, met his about-face with frosty responses.

Among his own New York delgation, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Democratic senators aren’t aligning with the members “who have won Trump-held districts in some of the most difficult territories in the United States, who walked the plank and took innumerable risks in order to defend the American people.”

When asked Friday if it’s time for new leadership in the U.S. Senate, Schumer’s Democratic counterpart and fellow New Yorker, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, responded with “next question.” Jeffries reiterated that House Democrats remain opposed and would not be “complicit” in the GOP spending plan.

Schumer was in a tough position, and his decision might be rooted in the fact he’s been here before.

In 2018 while also in the minority, Schumer led Senate Democrats to shut down the government because the Republican spending plan at that time didn’t include new protections for those in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) initiative, which prevents some illegal immigrants who were brought here as minors from being deported. The standoff was brief, lasting only three days before Schumer cut a deal to reopen the government, but still upset members of his caucus.

Schumer’s position now is as tough as it was then, since government shutdowns are broadly unpopular, and with Democrats in the minority in each branch of government, there is not much leverage for them to wield.

A shutdown might also muddle Democrats’ message of sympathy for the slate of government workers removed from their jobs by Trump and Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, since a shutdown impacts government workers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report