Trump meeting with House and Senate leaders ahead of government shutdown
By Rachel Schilke
September 27, 2025 8:34 pm
President Donald Trump will meet with Democratic and Republican congressional leaders on Monday, the Washington Examiner confirmed, ahead of a looming government shutdown on Oct. 1.
Trump will meet with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), per a White House official. Negotiations between the parties have been at a standstill as Republicans argue they have done their job and rallied behind a “clean” short-term spending deal, which punts the funding deadline to Nov. 21.
But Democrats are demanding concessions from the GOP to help alleviate what they call a healthcare “crisis” stemming from reforms to Medicaid made in the “big, beautiful bill” signed into law in July.
Jeffries and Schumer confirmed the meeting in a statement Saturday night.
“President Trump has once again agreed to a meeting in the Oval Office. As we have repeatedly said, Democrats will meet anywhere, at any time, and with anyone to negotiate a bipartisan spending agreement that meets the needs of the American people. We are resolute in our determination to avoid a government shutdown and address the Republican healthcare crisis. Time is running out.”
Trump was scheduled to meet with Jeffries and Schumer on Thursday, but he canceled the meeting after reviewing the “unserious and ridiculous” demands from congressional Democrats. The president determined that no meeting could “possibly be productive,” drawing severe rebuke from Jeffries and Schumer, who ridiculed him for “chicken[ing] out” and “running away” from the negotiating table.
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https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/3827735/trump-meeting-with-house-and-senate-leaders-ahead-of-government-shutdown/
