Senate Democrats are deciding whether to allow a vote on a full-year spending bill, which they have called for consistently in recent months, or to let the fight over a possible government shutdown drain their leverage.

GOP senators, led by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, are asking Democrats to oppose a bipartisan deal to fund the Department of Defense for fiscal year 2026, with Thune also planning to include the Labor Department and Health and Human Services appropriations bills in the package.

Democrats have pushed for movement on “regular order” spending bills for months, but they are growing skittish now that it’s up to them to act in the midst of a Capitol agenda. Asked if Democrats would allow a vote on the political standoff, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Appropriations Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) both hedged.

“We have to see what [Republicans] put on the floor. They haven’t told us yet,” Schumer said at a press conference.

Minority Whip Dick Durbin called it a “long shot” that Senate Democrats could unify around the bipartisan spending bill, a number that would be needed to overcome a filibuster. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said he did not think it was “appropriate” to give up negotiating power now, with Democrats trying to extend the Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire on Sunday and keep millions of Americans from getting notices of sharply higher health insurance costs next month.

“We’re just weeks away from people being notified—if they haven’t been already—about skyrocketing healthcare costs,” Kelly said, pointing to the beginning of ACA open enrollment on November 1. “That should be our focus, not a single defense appropriations bill.”

Many Democrats want to see a multi-pronged deal in order to sign onto any individual spending bills, and they want assurances that Republicans will go along with adding the Labor-HHS appropriations bill to the government funding bill.