Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellPelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Senate GOP aims to confirm Trump court pick by Oct. 29: report Trump argues full Supreme Court needed to settle potential election disputes MORE (R-Ky.) is pushing Democrats to stop stalling on a funding bill with hours left before a potential government shutdown.

McConnell signaled from the Senate floor Friday morning that he supported working on another extension of miners' health benefits next year.

"Would I have preferred that [the continuing resolution] provision to be more generous? Of course I would have," he said. "My request to the House was to fund it for a full year, but we'll be back at it in April and I think it's highly unlikely it will be taken away."

McConnell's remarks are the largest public assurance he's given to Democrats that he would be wiling to work with them to make sure thousands of miners and their families don't lose their healthcare benefits.

Lawmakers have until the end of Friday to pass the funding measure and avoid a government shutdown.

Unless McConnell can get Democrats to back down, the earliest lawmakers can vote on the government funding bill is Saturday morning, after the Friday night shutdown deadline.

The legislation currently includes a four-month extension. Retired miners and their families would lose their healthcare without further congressional action.

"It's been my intention that the miner benefits not expire at the end of April next year," McConnell said Friday. "As I just said, I'm going to work with my colleagues to prevent that."

He added that Democrats need to "take yes for an answer."

Democrats showed no signs of caving at a rally with miners outside of the Capitol on Thursday night.

Manchin insisted the one-year extension could still be included even the the House has largely left town, noting "skeletons" have voted before.

But Democrats, while stressing they are sympathetic to the miners, have stopped short of saying they will ultimately block the continuing resolution.