Both Parties Dig In as Shutdown Deadline Nears

With just days before the Sept. 30 funding deadline, Capitol Hill is bracing for a government shutdown that both sides now say looks inevitable.

President Donald Trump on Wednesday canceled a planned meeting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., signaling there would be no last-minute compromise.

Senate Democrats insist they cannot support any House-passed funding bill without direct talks, but Republicans argue there’s nothing to discuss. GOP leaders are pushing a “clean” seven-week continuing resolution, framing it as a take-it-or-leave-it offer. Trump, meanwhile, has made clear he will not concede to Democrat demands and is prepared to make the shutdown as politically painful as possible for his opponents.