President Trump set to meet with congressional leaders
(NBC, KYMA) - With just two full days before a government shutdown, President Donald Trump and the top four congressional leaders will meet Monday.
It comes after the president abruptly canceled a meeting with Democratic leaders last week. At the time, President Trump called the Democrats' demands ridiculous as they are pushing for more money for healthcare.
"You don't do this by one party putting together a completely partisan bill and saying, 'Take it or leave it,'" said Senator Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
House Republicans already passed a short-term spending bill, but it needs votes from Democrats to succeed in the Senate.
"What the Democrats have done here is take the federal government as a hostage," said Senator John Thune (R-SD).
Democrats are pointing the finger at Republicans, and holding out to reverse healthcare cuts, and extend subsidies set to expire at the end of the year.
"Americans should not see their health care suffer their premium spike, and people lose insurance and providers close," said Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA).
Adding to the stakes, the White House alerted federal agencies that mass layoffs are coming in addition to the typical furloughs if the government does shut down.
Trump said in an interview with NBC News, "We are going to cut a lot of the people," and that it would be on a permanent basis, though he said he would rather not.
However, Democrats called it a scare tactic.
"They're doing it anyway. There's no shutdown. They're laying off all these people," Senator Schumer expressed.
"It's a burden that can easily be avoided if the Democrats will just apply common sense and do the right thing," said House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA).
In a shutdown, more than two million federal workers could see their paychecks stop.
National parks would be forced to turn visitors away, and essential workers like air traffic controllers and TSA agents would be ordered to work without pay.
