U.S. lawmakers are putting the final touches on a $1.1 trillionspending bill needed to avert a government shutdown, after theWhite House appeared to satisfy Democrats’ demands that PresidentDonald Trump and Republicans protect a key piece of Obamacare.

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House Republicans introduced a seven-day stopgap measure lateWednesday aimed at giving both chambers enough time to finishnegotiating and pass a broader spending bill that would fund thegovernment through Sept. 30.

The move should remove the threat of a shutdown, even aslawmakers continue to haggle over several outstanding issues.

The White House on Wednesday afternoon assured lawmakers thatthe administration would continue to make the Obamacare payments atissue, which are used to subsidize coverage of lower-incomeAmericans, according to a person familiar with thenegotiations.

“This decision brings us closer to a bipartisan agreement tofund the government and is good news for the American people,”Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday afternoon in astatement. “There are outstanding issues to be resolved,particularly with riders, but this is a positive development forthe negotiations.”

With government funding set to run out Friday, Republicans andDemocrats in Congress have reached agreement on most elements ofthe sweeping spending bill, which remains under wraps.

Related: Trump changing tactics on tax after health carerepeal failure

But Trump criticized Democrats for their stances in thenegotiations.

Trump tweet

“The Democrats want to shut government if we don’t bail outPuerto Rico and give billions to their insurance companies forOCare failure,” Trump wrote on Twitter Thursday morning, using anabbreviation for Obamacare. Democrats had also pushed for funds tohelp Puerto Rico cover a shortfall in Medicaid payments.

Related: Keep and fix ACA, say mostAmericans

The omnibus is being delayed by fights over other policy areas,including Republican demands for changes to the Dodd-Frankfinancial law in the bill, a “conscience clause” provision to allowinsurers to refuse certain procedures, and language to restrictabortion coverage on Obamacare exchanges, a Democratic aidesaid.

The biggest issue was the billions in cost-sharing payments usedto offset health premiums for low-income people. Insurers arethreatening to raise premiums if they don’t get the subsidies andcould further drop coverage in Obamacare markets.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi said in a statement thatnegotiators had made progress on the health-care issue, thoughother disputes remained. She spoke twice on Wednesday with WhiteHouse chief of staff Reince Priebus, according to a Democraticaide.

Clear deadlock

A White House decision to continue the payments may be enough toclear the current deadlock and allow the spending bill to moveforward, although it’s unclear how quickly Congress would act.

On Thursday, Trump’s budget director, Mick Mulvaney, told CNBCthat he’s hopeful there will be no shutdown but is unsure of whereDemocrats stand.

“We thought we had a deal Monday” when they took funding theborder wall off the table, but since then, Democrats have gonesilent, he said. He believes Senate Democrats now are “looking forsomething they can ask for” but he doesn’t think there is such asticking point, he said.

Holding ‘hostage’

“This administration has made CSR payments in the past, and theonly reason some are raising this now is to hold the governmenthostage and find an excuse to oppose a bipartisan agreement,” hesaid, referring to the cost-sharing funds.

Democrats have expressed concern that the cost-sharing paymentscould be used as leverage against them in the future or get nixedin the courts and blow up the insurance market. The paymentsare currently being challenged by House Republicans in a lawsuitquestioning their legality.

Anthem Inc. threatened to raise rates for its Obamacare plansnext year if the U.S. government stops funding subsidies forlower-income customers, raising the ante on the outcome of thisdebate.

Chief Executive Officer Joseph Swedish said on a conference callWednesday that the insurer could raise its rates by 20 percent ifthe subsidies aren’t paid to insurers.

Pelosi, Mulvaney call

Pelosi clashed with Mulvaney Tuesday night over the issue duringa telephone call.

She reiterated to Mulvaney what has been the House Democraticnegotiating position in the talks that CSR payments must beincluded in the omnibus, said a Democratic aide familiar with theconversation.

The aide said Mulvaney indicated that, while the Trumpadministration had continued the payments, officials hadn’t yetdecided whether they would make the May payment.

The Democratic aide said Mulvaney made clear that, absentcongressional action, the judge’s order ruling the payments illegalwould stand and the administration would cease making payments.

But a White House official said that Mulvaney didn’t say theadministration would end payments.

“Instead of working with Democrats to avert another disastrousRepublican government shutdown, the Trump administration is cruellythreatening to raise health premiums on millions of families,”Pelosi said in a statement Wednesday, noting that Mulvaney helpedpush the GOP toward a government shutdown in 2013.

The outlines of the broader spending package have been largelyto Democrats’ liking, including the GOP decision to omit $18billion in domestic spending cuts proposed by Trump andMulvaney.

Democrats had offered to increase defense spending if the dealincluded the CSR funding along with money for Puerto Rico’sMedicaid program and coal miners’ health benefits.

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