WASHINGTON — Congressional leaders emerged from a White House meeting with President Donald Trump Monday afternoon with no breakthrough to prevent an imminent government shutdown, as Democrats and Republicans remained entrenched in opposing positions over federal funding legislation that must pass by Tuesday night.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and Vice President JD Vance offered starkly different assessments of the negotiations following Trump’s first meeting with the “big four” congressional leaders since returning to office, with both sides placing blame on the other party for the impending funding lapse.
“There are still large differences between us,” Schumer said as he departed the White House, while Vance told reporters, “I think we’re headed into a shutdown because the Democrats won’t do the right thing.”
The meeting included Schumer, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, but failed to produce the compromise necessary to keep government offices operating and prevent furloughs of nonexempt federal employees.
Without congressional passage and presidential signature of funding legislation by Tuesday night, many government offices nationwide will temporarily close, adding economic strain on federal workers and the broader economy. Federal agencies were already distributing contingency plans detailing which offices would remain open and which employees would face furloughs if funding lapses at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
Democrats are leveraging one of their few negotiating positions to demand legislation extending Affordable Care Act tax credits that have subsidized health insurance for millions of Americans since the COVID-19 pandemic. The credits, designed to expand coverage for low- and middle-income people, expire at year’s end.
Republicans refuse to include the health care provisions in the short-term funding measure and are challenging Democrats to vote against legislation that would maintain government funding at current levels. The Republican-controlled House has already passed a bill to extend government funding for seven weeks while Congress develops annual spending legislation.
Trump has demonstrated minimal interest in accommodating Democratic demands regarding health care, though he agreed to Monday’s sit-down meeting with congressional leadership. The president repeatedly stated before the meeting that he fully expects the government to enter shutdown this week.
“They’re going to have to do some things because their ideas are not very good ones,” Trump said as he entered the meeting, making clear his unwillingness to negotiate on Democratic terms.
However, Schumer suggested after the session that Trump proved more receptive to Democratic proposals than Republican leaders present at the meeting. “The president was really listening to us,” Schumer said, adding, “It’s in his hands.” Vance confirmed that Trump found several policy points of agreement during discussions.
Jeffries emphasized Democratic commitment to protecting health care access. “Democrats are fighting to protect the health care of the American people,” the New York Democrat said. “We are not going to support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of everyday Americans.”
Some Republicans have expressed openness to extending tax credits with modifications, but Thune has pressed Democrats to approve the funding bill and address tax credit debates separately. “We’re willing to sit down and work with them on some of the issues they want to talk about,” the South Dakota Republican told reporters, adding, “But as of right now, this is a hijacking of the American people, and it’s the American people who are going to pay the price.”
Senate Democrats face an uncomfortable political position to maintain negotiating leverage, likely requiring them to vote against temporary government funding extension just hours before shutdown, contradicting their long-standing denunciation of shutdowns as pointless and destructive.
Any government funding legislation requires support from at least 60 senators in the 100-member chamber, meaning at least eight Democrats must vote for the short-term measure since Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky is expected to oppose it.
During the March near-shutdown, Schumer and nine other Democrats voted to break a filibuster allowing Republican-led funding legislation to advance. The decision triggered fierce backlash within his party, with some members calling for his removal as Democratic leader.
Senate Democrats have begun discussing potential responses if shutdown occurs, including possibly proposing a one- or two-week stopgap if Republicans negotiate on health care fixes, according to people familiar with private discussions who requested anonymity. However, no caucus consensus exists on proceeding, and no guarantees exist that Republicans and Trump would negotiate.
The Trump administration is using shutdown preparations to potentially implement additional federal employee layoffs, increasing pressure on Democratic lawmakers to abandon their demands. Budget Director Russ Vought told White House reporters that shutdown would be managed “appropriately, but it is something that can all be avoided” if Senate Democrats accepted the House-passed bill.
Vought, who previously advised hardline conservatives to use shutdown threats for policy concessions before joining the administration, criticized Democrats Monday for employing similar tactics. “This is hostage taking. It is not something that we are going to accept,” he said.
The impasse demonstrates continuing partisan divisions over government funding priorities and health care policy, with neither side showing willingness to compromise as the shutdown deadline approaches. The standoff threatens to disrupt government services and federal employee paychecks while Congress remains deadlocked over competing priorities.
Federal contingency plans detail essential operations that would continue during shutdown, including national security functions, while outlining which services would cease and which employees would face temporary unpaid leave until funding resumes.
