WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� A government shutdown fast approaching, Democratic and Republican congressional leaders left a White House meeting with President Monday afternoon showing no sign of compromising from their entrenched positions in order to avoid a lapse in funding.
If government funding legislation isn’t passed by Congress and signed by Trump on Tuesday night, many government offices across the nation will be and nonexempt federal employees will be furloughed, adding to the strain on workers and the nation’s economy.
But lawmakers were locked in an impasse Monday. Democrats are using one of their few points of leverage to demand legislation to extend health care benefits. But Republicans are refusing to compromise and daring Democrats to vote against legislation that would keep government funding mostly at current levels.
鈥淭here are still large differences between us,鈥� Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said as he left the White House.
Vice President JD Vance told reporters after the meeting, 鈥淚 think we鈥檙e headed into a shutdown because the Democrats won鈥檛 do the right thing.鈥�
Negotiating with Trump
in entertaining Democrats’ demands on health care, even as he agreed to hold a sit-down meeting Monday with Schumer, along with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries.
It was Trump鈥檚 first meeting with the 鈥渂ig four鈥� leaders in Congress since retaking the White House for his second term, yet the Republican president said repeatedly heading into the meeting that he fully expects the government to enter a shutdown this week.
As he headed into the meeting, Trump made it clear he had no intention to negotiate on Democrats鈥� current terms.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to have to do some things because their ideas are not very good ones,鈥� he said.
Still, Schumer said after the meeting that they had 鈥渉ad candid, frank discussions鈥� with Trump about health care and suggested that the president was more open to their proposals than the Republican leaders who were also in the meeting. Vance also said that Trump found several points of agreement on policy ideas.
Schumer said the president 鈥渨as really listening to us,” adding, 鈥淚t鈥檚 in his hands.鈥�
Democrats鈥� health care demands
Democrats are pushing for an extension to Affordable Care Act that have subsidized health insurance for millions of people since the COVID-19 pandemic. The credits, which are designed to expand coverage for low- and middle-income people, are set to expire at the end of the year.
鈥淒emocrats are fighting to protect the health care of the American people,鈥� said Jeffries, a New York Democrat. 鈥淲e are not going to support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of everyday Americans.鈥�
Some Republicans are open to extending the tax credits but want changes. But Thune, a South Dakota Republican, has pressed Democrats to vote for the funding bill and take up the debate on tax credits later.
鈥淲e鈥檙e willing to sit down and work with them on some of the issues they want to talk about,鈥� he told reporters at the White House, adding, 鈥淏ut 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.鈥�
How will Democrats vote?
To hold on to their negotiating leverage, Senate Democrats will likely have to vote against a bill to temporarily extend government funding on Tuesday, just hours before a shutdown 鈥� an uncomfortable position for a party that has long denounced shutdowns as pointless and destructive.
The bill has already passed the Republican-controlled House and would keep the government funded for seven more weeks while Congress works on .
Any legislation to fund the government will need support from at least 60 senators in the 100-member Senate. That means that at least eight Democrats would have to vote for the short-term funding bill, because Republican Sen. of Kentucky is expected to vote against it.
During the last potential government shutdown in March, Schumer and nine other Democrats voted to break a filibuster and allow a Republican-led funding bill to advance to a final vote. The New York Democrat from many in his own party for that decision, with some even calling for him to step down as Democratic leader.
Senate Democrats have begun to discuss some possible next steps if the government does shut down 鈥� potentially a proposal for a one- or two-week stopgap if Republicans will work with them on a health care fix, according to several people familiar with the private talks who requested anonymity to discuss them. But there is no consensus in the caucus about how to proceed, or guarantees that Republicans and Trump would negotiate.
Shutdown preparations begin
Federal agencies were sending out contingency plans if funding lapses at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. They included details on what offices would stay open and which employees would be furloughed.
The Trump administration is using the process to potentially layoff more federal employees. The plans heap more to back away from their demands.
Russ Vought, Trump’s budget director, told reporters at the White House that a shutdown would be managed 鈥渁ppropriately, but it is something that can all be avoided鈥� if Senate Democrats accepted the House-passed bill.
Before joining the administration, Vought had advised hardline conservatives in Congress to use the prospect of a shutdown to negotiate for policy concessions. But on Monday, he berated Democrats for engaging in a similar ploy.
鈥淭his is hostage taking. It is not something that we are going to accept,鈥� he said.
___
Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim, Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking and Joey Cappelletti in Washington contributed.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
