The Senate moved forward with a Republican spending plan in a crucial vote that effectively swept away the threat of a US government shutdown while exacerbating a furious struggle within the Democratic party over how to confront Donald Trump’s audacious expansion of presidential power.

The U.S. Senate on Friday voted to advance 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.