In a talk show appearance ahead of his sit-in with Trump, both sides continued to dig into their heels to hash the looming government closure.
The Trump administration is preparing for a layoff for government shutdown
The White House is asking federal agencies to prepare plans for mass shootings if the government is partially shut down next week, and the latest clash in the high-stakes conflict between President Donald Trump and Congressional Democrats partially shut down.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump and top Congress leaders are sitting in the White House on Monday, September 29th for a high stakes meeting, hoping to avoid a swift invasion government shutdown.
The countdown continues at the late night deadline of October 1st. Without a deal, Trump’s administration will be tasked with maintaining “essential” government services, such as military enforcement and law enforcement, but “non-essential” functions, such as national parks, will shut down or reduce staffing.
As the clock is ticking through, the political responsibility game has already begun. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared on CNN’s “The State of the Coalition” and Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Future,” accusing Democrats of appealing for efforts to pass fundraising bills on partisan “laundry lists.” Regarding NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Chuck Schumer, the Democratic minority leader, said avoiding the closure would be “dependent on Republicans.”
The pair’s comments were based on dialogue with Trump, Senate majority leader John Tune and Democrat minority leader Hakem Jeffries. The president suddenly cancelled a meeting that had previously been set for September 25th with two Democratic leaders. Since then, both sides have been digging their heels publicly.
Congress and its leadership will be within 48 hours prior to the deadline to avoid government shutdown. This will begin at 12:01am on October 1st, if there is no last-minute breakthrough.
The Democratic Center’s main obsession point on healthcare funding: They are calling for an inversion of Medicaid funding cuts made by Trump’s recent tax bill, as well as an extension of the Obamacare Premium Subsidy, which was set to expire at the end of the year.
That extension must be permanent, Jeffries told reporters at Capitol Hill hours before meeting with Trump. Also, the law requires “iron to be covered” – not verbal commitment – he said.
“These people have been trying to abolish and drive people away from the Affordable Care Act since 2010,” he said of the Republican Party. “On behalf of the American people, we are simply taking their words that they are willing to negotiate. Americans know that it’s rational to us.”
Schumer, the counterpart of Senator Jeffreys, shows that the White House Conference is unlikely to win a massive deal, calling it the first step.
“You know, meetings are the first step, but only the first step,” Schumer said in “Meet the Press.” “We need serious negotiations. If the president of this conference is now in anger, screaming at the Democrats, talking about all his complaints, saying this and saying that we won’t get anything else, then my hope is that it will be serious negotiations.”
Republicans in the House of Representatives passed a small short-term funding bill on September 19 to fund the government until November 21, but the bill was short in the Senate, where 60 votes are needed to avoid a filibuster.
“Chuck Schumer has returned with a long laundry list of requests that don’t fit this process,” Johnson told CNN. “He’s going to try to shut down the government.”
House lawmakers are not planning to return to get the vote until after the government may be shut down. In the meantime, Schumer and Tune hope that the senators will reconsider their fundraising measures.
