WASHINGTON – The Trump Administration told congressional leaders it will continue to fund ObamaCare subsidies in a move that greatly lessens the chances for a government shutdown.

Two Democratic congressional sources said President Trump is no longer threatening to withhold the payments – worth about $7 billion a year – so he can strike a deal on a spending bill to keep the government running past Friday.

“It is good that once again the president seems to be backing off his threat to hold health care and government funding hostage,” said Democratic Senate leader Charles Schumer.

The assurances for ObamaCare payments come a day after Trump dropped funding demands for a border wall with Mexico. Now Democratic leaders say they are much closer to a deal to avoid a shutdown Saturday — Trump’s 100th day in office.

“Our major concerns in these negotiations have been about funding for the wall and uncertainty about the CSR [Cost Saving Reduction] payments crucial to the stability of the marketplaces under the Affordable Care Act,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said. “We’ve now made progress on both of these fronts.”

The ObamaCare standoff began earlier Wednesday when House Speaker Paul Ryan said the spending bill would not include the cost sharing payments Democrats wanted.

“We’re not doing that,” Ryan said after a closed-door meeting with his GOP caucus.

ObamaCare payments should be addressed separately by the Trump administration and not be a bargaining chip in the spending bill, Ryan insisted.