WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump will meet with the top Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress on Monday to discuss government funding ahead of a September 30 deadline to keep the government open, a White House official said on Saturday.
Trump had previously scrapped a meeting with the top Congressional Democrats – Representative Hakeem Jeffries and Senator Chuck Schumer – to discuss government funding.
Jefferies and Schumer released a joint statement Saturday evening confirming the Monday meeting, and said: “We are resolute in our determination to avoid a government shutdown.”
The federal government is on the brink of its 15th partial shutdown since 1981 because lawmakers have failed to agree on a plan for discretionary funding for the new fiscal year, or about one-quarter of the $7 trillion budget.
On September 19, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives passed a stopgap bill to fund the government through November 21. The bill fell short in the Senate where Republicans needed 60 votes.
Senate Democrats rejected the bill, demanding that any legislation undo recent cuts to healthcare programs.
Republicans currently hold 53 seats in the Senate compared with the 47 held by Democrats, and have a 219-213 majority in the House.
News of Trump’s meeting with Congressional leaders on Monday was first reported by Punchbowl News.
(Reporting by David Morgan, Steve Holland and Ismail Shakil, editing by Deepa Babington and Chizu Nomiyama)
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