Trump meets Democrats in last-gasp talks before US government shutdown
Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks at the 79th annual Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in New York, as Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., and Cardinal Timothy Dolan listen. (Photo: AP/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump met senior Republicans and Democrats at the White House on Monday (Sep 29), seeking to revive stalled spending talks with barely 36 hours left to avert a US government shutdown.
Unless Congress approves a funding bill before midnight on Tuesday, the government will partially close, halting non-essential operations, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal employees without pay and disrupting many social welfare payments.
The White House has heightened tensions by warning that mass layoffs of civil servants could follow a shutdown, breaking with the usual practice of temporary furloughs until a deal is reached.
REPUBLICANS PUSH STOPGAP, DEMOCRATS DEMAND RESTORATIONS
Republicans have proposed extending current funding through late November while negotiating a longer-term plan.
Democrats, weakened after Trump dismantled entire departments through his “Big, Beautiful” budget bill in July, are pressing for hundreds of billions of dollars to be restored to healthcare spending, including the Obamacare program.
House Speaker Mike Johnson told Fox News on Sunday that Trump was “open to discussion” and wanted to operate “in good faith” at the White House meeting with Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and Democratic leaders Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer.
Schumer said the session was only a first step, while Jeffries urged Republicans to find “common ground” on funding that protects health, safety and economic well-being.
WHITE HOUSE UPS PRESSURE
Republicans hold slim majorities in both chambers, but Senate rules require 60 votes to pass a budget bill, meaning at least seven Democrats must support any Republican plan.
Trump has kept up his attacks, calling Democrats “crazed” and blaming them for the impasse. Jeffries shot back: “We will not be intimidated.”
In March, a similar standoff was defused when 10 Senate Democrats reluctantly backed a Republican stopgap plan to avoid a shutdown. But the decision angered the party’s base, which is now pressing leaders to stand firm.
