Washington DC - Lawmakers in the House of Representatives narrowly passed a stopgap funding bill Friday as Republicans race to avert a government shutdown and political crisis in President Donald Trump's Washington.

The measure appears likely to be shot down by Democrats in the Senate later in the day amid no sign of compromise with Trump's Republicans on the national budget.

With both chambers scheduled to be on recess next week, returning September 29, time is running out to keep the government funded after the end of the fiscal year September 30.

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A shutdown would see non-essential operations start to grind to a halt, with furloughs potentially hitting hundreds of thousands of civil servants.

The House bill passed 217 votes in favor to 212 against.

Only one House Democrat backed the so-called "continuing resolution" while two Republicans joined with Democrats to oppose the bill.

It now heads to the Senate, where Democrats say they will block the measure until Republicans agree to negotiate.

The Republicans have a narrow majority in both chambers of Congress, but due to Senate rules have to get some opposition support – in this case, at least seven Democratic votes.

That gives Democrats a rare moment of leverage at a time when Trump and his ultra-loyal party are plowing ahead with implementation of a hard-right agenda.

The bill currently being voted on would only be a temporary fix, funding federal agencies through November 21.

This would only delay far more complicated negotiations on the Trump government's future spending plans, which House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said "fails to meet the needs of the American people."

Last time Congress faced a shutdown – in March of this year – Republicans refused talks with Democrats over Trump's massive budget cuts and the layoff of thousands of federal employees. In that case, however, Democrats backed off from forcing a shutdown.