Washington, D.C. — With the clock ticking toward a critical budget deadline, President Donald Trump will meet with the nation’s top congressional leaders at the White House on Monday. The high-stakes talks come as the threat of a government shutdown looms large, with funding set to expire at midnight on September 30.
The meeting will bring together House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. It marks the latest effort to resolve a standoff that has paralyzed Washington for weeks.
At the center of the dispute: funding for key healthcare programs. Democrats are pushing for an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies and a rollback of proposed Medicaid cuts, conditions Republicans say have no place in a short-term spending bill. GOP leaders insist on a clean stopgap measure, free of additional policy riders.
Though Republicans control both chambers of Congress and the White House, they lack the 60 votes needed in the Senate to pass a funding measure without Democratic support. That gives Democrats significant leverage heading into the talks. Senate Minority Leader Schumer has warned Republicans that “real negotiations” are the only path to avoiding a shutdown.
The showdown has already been marked by rising tensions. Just last week, President Trump abruptly canceled a planned meeting with Democratic leaders, calling the talks “a waste of time.” That decision drew criticism and heightened partisan divisions.
Now, with the deadline just hours away, the stakes could not be higher. A shutdown would furlough hundreds of thousands of federal workers, shutter government offices, and disrupt key public services. Economists warn it could also ripple through the broader U.S. economy if prolonged.
Both sides are bracing for political fallout. Democrats argue that Republicans, holding the reins of power, will bear the blame if the government closes its doors. Republicans counter that Democrats are risking the livelihoods of federal employees to push unrelated healthcare demands.
Time, however, is running out. Monday’s meeting may represent the last chance to avert a shutdown before the fiscal year closes. All eyes will be on the White House, where leaders from both parties will attempt under extraordinary pressure to strike a deal and keep the government running.
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