Shutdown countdown: Senate rejects funding plans, Democrats request Trump meeting

With a potential government shutdown approaching at the end of the month, Democratic leaders in Congress are requesting a direct meeting with President Donald Trump to discuss a possible path forward on federal funding while Republican leaders have said their doors are open.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries sent a letter to the President Sept. 20, urging engagement and citing concerns about stalled negotiations, Politico reported. 

The letter criticized Republican leadership for a lack of dialogue and stated, “Republicans will bear responsibility for another painful government shutdown because of the refusal of GOP congressional leadership to even talk with Democrats.”

Federal funding is set to expire Sept. 30. On Sept. 19, the Senate rejected two competing short-term funding proposals: one backed by Republicans that would have extended funding through Nov. 21, and a Democratic plan that would have funded the government through Oct. 31.

Trump indicated he would be willing to meet with Democratic leaders but voiced doubt as to whether such a meeting would lead to progress, Politico reported.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune responded to the ongoing calls for negotiation by noting that Republicans remain open to discussion. 

“They have something that they want to bring to us and talk about, and certainly we’re open to talking, but like I said before, I’ve been available now for weeks,” he said.

According to Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., the two funding bills represented sharply different fiscal approaches. He described the Republican proposal as a practical measure to keep the government funded through November while Congress continued work on full-year appropriations. The Democrat-backed plan, he argued, would have significantly increased spending and reversed key reforms.

“It added a trillion dollars with the new spending,” Schmitt said. “It gutted the reforms that we had in the one big beautiful bill. It gutted the rescissions that we had — President Trump’s agenda.” 

He also criticized the removal of rural hospital funding and other provisions, including restoring funding for “Guatemalan sex changes,” calling the Democratic measure “a disaster.”

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to the situation by reaffirming the administration’s position.

“What this White House wants and what Republicans want [is] a clean funding extension to keep the government open,” she said in a Sept. 22 press conference. “That's all we're advocating for. A simple, clean, budget extension, a straightforward, responsible solution to keep the government open to November 21st and allow the full-year appropriations process to move forward.”

Leavitt added that the proposed budget is the same one Democrats supported six months ago, “just adjusted for inflation,” and criticized Democratic leaders for shifting their stance. 

“Unfortunately, all of a sudden now, they want to shut down the government,” she said.

She noted that both Schumer and Jeffries had previously spoken out against shutdowns. 

“Democrats clearly know what the right thing to do is here,” Leavitt said. “It's to join with Republicans to pass this clean funding extension.”