Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) set up a path to vote on a bill to fund the government’s remaining agencies Friday, putting in place an alternative plan in case a time agreement is not met ahead of a looming partial government shutdown at midnight.

The action in the Senate comes after the House passed the remainder of its annual appropriations bills on Friday, marking the first step toward avoiding a shutdown, just hours before federal funding is set to lapse. However, there’s some uncertainty about whether the Senate will be able to move the legislation ahead of the midnight deadline.

Schumer filed cloture on the bill as a contingency plan if a deal is not reached on possible amendments and final passage Friday night. If opponents of the bill do not relent, the Senate would not be able to speed up the process, and it would mean the upper chamber would not be able to move forward with a vote to break the filibuster until Sunday, more than 24 hours into a partial shutdown.