WASHINGTON, September 30. /TASS/. After meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House, Democratic and Republican congressmen announced that they had failed to reach an agreement on measures to prevent a federal government shutdown.
"We have very large differences," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (a Democrat representing New York) told reporters. He explained that these differences concern healthcare spending and appropriations in areas previously cut by the Washington administration.
"It's up to the Republicans whether they want a shutdown or not. We've made to the president some proposals, Republican leaders will have to talk to them about them. But ultimately, he's the decision maker," Schumer added, referring to Trump. "And if he will accept some of the things we asked, which we think the American people are for on healthcare and on rescissions, he can avoid a shutdown. But there are still large differences between us," he emphasized. House of Representatives Democratic minority leader Hakeem Jeffries made a similar statement.
In turn, US Vice President JD Vance said after the meeting: "I think we're headed into a shutdown because Democrats won't do the right thing. I hope they change their mind but we’re going to see." At the same time, Vance acknowledged that he considers some of the Democrats' proposals reasonable. The vice president assured that the administration would strive to keep key services functioning even if government funding is suspended.
Possibility of shutdown
Trump had previously raised the possibility of a shutdown if Republicans and Democrats in Congress did not reach a consensus by October 1 on a bill that would provide continued funding. On September 19, the Senate rejected two bills to continue funding the federal government.
In March, Trump signed a bill that provided continued funding for the federal government until the end of the fiscal year on September 30. This prevented a looming shutdown on March 15 that would have resulted in the suspension of several government agencies and programs and the temporary suspension of salaries for hundreds of thousands of civil servants, many of whom would have been placed on unpaid leave.
Since 1977, funding has been interrupted more than 20 times due to disagreements between the administration and Congress. The longest shutdown, which occurred during Trump's first presidential term, lasted 35 days, from December 22, 2018, to January 25, 2019.