Trump to meet with Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress amid threat of shutdown
U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with top Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress on Monday, September 29, to discuss government funding ahead of the September 30 deadline to keep the government open. This was reported by Reuters with reference to a White House official.
Earlier, Trump canceled a meeting with top Democrats in Congress – Congressman Hakeem Jeffries and Senator Chuck Schumer – to discuss government funding.
Jeffries and Schumer issued a joint statement Saturday night confirming Monday's meeting and said: "We are determined to avoid a government shutdown".
The federal government is on the verge of its 15th partial shutdown since 1981, as lawmakers have been unable to agree on a discretionary funding plan for the new fiscal year, or roughly a quarter of the $7 trillion budget.
On September 19, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a stopgap bill to fund the government until November 21. The bill was not passed by the Senate, where Republicans needed 60 votes.
Senate Democrats reject the bill, demanding that any legislation reverse recent cuts to health care programs.
Currently, Republicans hold 53 seats in the Senate, compared to 47 for Democrats, and have a majority in the House of Representatives (219 to 213).
In the United States, a shutdown is a temporary suspension of the federal government due to lack of funding. If lawmakers do not agree on a budget or temporary funding, government agencies lose the right to spend money. Some civil servants are furloughed. Others, whose functions are critical (army, police, etc.), continue to work, but will only receive their salaries after funding is restored.
- In December 2024, both houses of the US Congress passed a three-month funding bill (until March 2025), which avoided a government shutdown. Moreover, the vote in the Senate took place late at night after the previous budget law had expired.
- On March 14, 2025, the Senate passed a Republican-drafted government funding bill that helped avoid a government shutdown.
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