Washington DC - President Donald Trump praised Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for supporting the controversial stopgap appropriations bill he signed into law on Saturday.

After the beleaguered stopgap spending bill passed in both the House and Senate this week, Trump signed it into law on Saturday, averting a partial government shutdown.

"The Senate has passed a measure to avert a government shutdown and allow President Trump to carry out his agenda on behalf of the American people," a statement from the White House read.

The stopgap spending bill will maintain funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement, increase funding for the Coast Guard and Air Traffic Control, and provide a pay rise for junior troops, among other things.

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Taking to Truth Social on Friday, Trump congratulated Schumer for "doing the right thing" and having the "courage" to support the bill, which was heavily criticized by Democrats.

"Congratulations to Chuck Schumer for doing the right thing – Took 'guts' and courage," Trump wrote. "We should all work together on that very dangerous situation. A non pass would be a Country destroyer, approval will lead us to new heights."

"Again, really good and smart move by Senator Schumer. This could lead to something big for the USA, a whole new direction and beginning!"

In an interview published by the The New York Times on Sunday, Schumer justified his decision to support the bill and avert a government shutdown, and said that the Democrats were stuck between a rock and a hard place.

"A shutdown would shut down all government agencies, and it would solely be up to Trump and DOGE and Musk what to open again, because they could determine what was essential," Schumer explained.

"Two days from now in a shutdown, they could say, well, food stamps for kids is not essential," he said. "It’s gone. All veterans offices in rural areas are gone. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid. They’re not essential."

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"So it’d be horrible. The damage they can do under a shutdown is much worse than any other damage that they could do."

"I knew this would be an unpopular decision. I knew that. I know politics. But I felt so strongly as a leader that I couldn’t let this happen because weeks and months from now, things would be far worse than they even are today, that I had to do what I had to do."