High-stakes meeting as government shutdown deadline nears
A critical meeting is set for today in Washington as President Donald Trump sits down with the top four congressional leaders from both parties in an effort to avoid a government shutdown.
(NBC)- A critical meeting is set for today in Washington as President Donald Trump sits down with the top four congressional leaders from both parties in an effort to avoid a government shutdown at midnight tomorrow.
Democrats are pressing for negotiations, rejecting what they describe as partisan tactics. “You don’t do this by one party putting together a completely partisan bill and saying, ‘Take it or leave it,’” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
The Republican-led House has already passed a short-term spending bill, but the measure needs Democratic support to clear the Senate. Republicans argue Democrats are stalling. “What the Democrats have done here is take the federal government as a hostage,” said Sen. John Thune (R-SD).
At the center of the debate are Democratic demands to roll back healthcare cuts and extend subsidies set to expire at the end of the year. “Americans should not see their health care suffer, their premiums spike, and people lose insurance and providers close,” said Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA).
The White House has warned federal agencies to prepare for mass layoffs in addition to the furloughs that typically accompany shutdowns. In an interview with NBC News, Trump said, “We are going to cut a lot of the people” on a permanent basis, though he added he would prefer not to. Democrats dismissed the remark as a scare tactic.
“They’re doing it anyway. There’s no shutdown. They’re laying off all these people,” Schumer said. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) countered, “It’s a burden that can easily be avoided if the Democrats will just apply common sense and do the right thing.”
With the deadline just hours away, federal workers and millions of Americans are bracing for the potential disruption of paychecks and government services.
