Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries met over the weekend to start to mend a deep rift in the Democratic Party after the Senate leader allowed passage of a Republican stopgap spending bill.

Schumer said the spending bill was “terrible” but that a shutdown would have been far worse, and difficult to end, as President Donald Trump has already slashed jobs and funding for agencies across the government. A shutdown would have given Trump even more power to make cuts, Schumer said, “and so many programs would be lost.”

Many Democratic activists, desperate for their leaders to stand up to President Trump, have been staging protests outside of Senator Chuck Schumer’s home and calling for his resignation.