For all the latest developments in Congress, follow WTOP Capitol Hill correspondent Mitchell Miller at Today on the Hill.
Congressional Republicans and Democrats are in a government shutdown showdown that has shown no sign of compromise ahead of a deadline next week.
But President Donald Trump has now agreed to meet with two top Democrats — Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries — before the Sept. 30 deadline.
The president’s decision to meet with them was first reported on Monday by Punchbowl News. Schumer and Jeffries over the weekend had requested a meeting with the president in an effort to avert a shutdown.
“At your direction, Republican congressional leaders have repeatedly and publicly refused to engage in bipartisan negotiations to keep the government open,” they said in a letter to the president.
Trump had indicated he would be willing to meet with Democratic leaders, though he didn’t sound optimistic about a breakthrough.
He said on Friday that there could be a shutdown “for a period of time,” and that Democrats would be to blame.
If a stopgap spending measure isn’t approved by the Senate by Sept. 30, the shutdown will begin Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year.
While the House approved a continuing resolution last Friday, it failed to get the necessary 60 votes in the Senate and lawmakers left Washington for a break linked to Rosh Hashana.
Schumer is critical of the House GOP leadership, which said it wouldn’t bring lawmakers back until October.
“If there were ever a sign that the Republicans wanted a shutdown, that’s it,” Schumer said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said he’s always open to speaking with Democrats, but suggested their proposals are unrealistic.
Shutdown has a history of the ‘blame game’
The history of government shutdowns suggests the party that decides not to agree to a spending measure to keep federal agencies open generally bears the brunt of blame with voters.
In 2013, Senate Republicans refused to allow a continuing resolution to pass, due to opposition to provisions related to the Affordable Care Act. That led to a shutdown that lasted for more than two weeks.
A Washington Post/ABC News poll taken after the shutdown found that more than 80% of Americans disapproved of the shutdown and 53% felt Republicans were responsible for it.
Democrats have generally been more hesitant to take a position that could lead to a shutdown, especially those who represent federal workers in the Washington area. But Schumer was sharply criticized by fellow Democrats earlier this year, when many accused him of caving to GOP demands to fund the government in March.
Schumer and Jeffries have decided to stand firm on various health care matters, including extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits, which are scheduled to expire at the end of the year.
Thune has acknowledged some Republicans support extension of the tax credits, but maintains the issue and others can be addressed during the appropriations process, after a continuing resolution is passed to extend spending through Nov. 21.
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