WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump and top congressional leaders are sitting down at the White House on Monday, Sept. 29, for a high-stakes meeting in hopes of avoiding a fast-approaching government shutdown.
The countdown is on with a midnight Oct. 1 deadline. Absent a deal, Trump's administration will be tasked with maintaining "essential" government services such as the military and law enforcement, while "non-essential" functions like national parks will close or cut staffing.
As the clock keeps ticking, the political blame game has already begun. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared on CNN’s "State of the Union" and Fox News’ "Sunday Morning Futures" to accuse Democrats of waylaying efforts to pass a funding bill with a "laundry list" of partisan asks. Over on NBC’s "Meet the Press," Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said averting a shutdown "depends on the Republicans."
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The pair’s comments prefaced their dialogue with Trump, Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries. The president abruptly canceled a meeting that had previously been set for Sept. 25 with the two Democratic leaders. Since then, both sides have continued to publicly dig in their heels.
