Government shutdown: Schumer, Jeffries to meet with Trump, GOP leaders Monday in effort to reach deal, sources say

In a last-ditch effort to prevent a U.S. government shutdown, President Donald Trump and top Congressional leaders will meet on Monday at the White House to try to reach a spending deal.

Funding for most federal agencies is set expire after midnight Tuesday — with Wednesday being the start of the new fiscal year. But as of Saturday night, three days away, Congress remained in a stalemate. The faceoff is over what should be in a bill to temporarily extend funding for agencies into late November.

Attending the Monday meeting will be two New York Democrats — House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — as well as Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.). The meeting was confirmed Saturday night by multiple Democrat and Republican congressional sources, and a White House official.

Democrats are demanding health-care-related concessions from Republicans, who control both the U.S. House and Senate, in exchange for their votes needed in the Senate to help advance such a measure.

But Republicans are insisting the bill be kept, for the most part, at status-quo spending levels, promising broader negotiations on a full-year bill will occur after. They object to Democrats using its must-pass status for leverage or a negotiating tactic.

Democrats say they need iron-clad guarantees from Republicans that their policy demands will be met.

Jeffries and Schumer released a joint public statement Saturday that did not specify the Monday timing for the meeting but confirmed one has been set, and also noting Trump had canceled one earlier in the week.

"President Donald Trump has once again agreed to a meeting in the Oval Office. As we have repeatedly said, Democrats will meet anywhere, at any time and with anyone to negotiate a bipartisan spending agreement that meets the needs of the American people,” Schumer and Jeffries stated.

“We are resolute in our determination to avoid a government shutdown and address the Republican health care crisis. Time is running out,” they added.