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.

The Senate finds itself in a familiar position, working to avoid a partial government shutdown with just hours to spare.

Schumer relented one day after he vowed Senate Democrats would thwart the "partisan" measure, saying the "chaos" of a government shutdown would be a worse option.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer dropped his threat to block a Republican spending bill, opening the way to avoid a US government shutdown.

With a shutdown deadline approaching, Democrats want a continuing resolution to extend government funding through April 11.