Trump summons four congressional leaders for White House talks as government shutdown looms

President Donald Trump has summoned four congressional leaders to the White House for a late-stage showdown over funding as a government shutdown looms. Trump has scheduled a Monday meeting with Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La), according to statements from Schumer and Jeffries. The leaders said the session would be held in the Oval Office as lawmakers race to avert a funding gap.

Schumer and Jeffries described the session as a last-ditch bid to secure a bipartisan spending agreement that would prevent a shutdown and address ongoing concerns around healthcare policy. The Hill reported that Trump had previously canceled a separate meeting with Schumer and Jeffries earlier in the week, a decision Jeffries publicly criticized, noting the president had spent time at a Ryder Cup event instead of negotiating on government funding.

Without action, funding is set to run out on Tuesday, and a shutdown would take effect on Wednesday. Any spending package would require bipartisan support in the Senate and the backing of at least seven Democrats, a threshold some lawmakers have described as a practical hurdle given deep partisan divisions.

Democrats have pressed Republicans to attach measures such as continued subsidies for the Affordable Care Act or an extension of subsidies that expire at year end, as well as restoring Medicaid flexibility curtailed by new GOP policies. Republicans have argued those provisions are not germane to the funding bill and should be tackled in a separate package, if at all.

Trump has criticized Democratic demands as "unserious and ridiculous" while some Republican leaders warned against negotiating under pressure. Thune has said he spoke with the president but did not disclose specifics and suggested the planned meeting might not yield a productive result, a sentiment Johnson appears to share, according to late-week remarks.

House Republicans have floated options, including a seven-week funding extension that would cover core agencies, plus additional money for security for the legislative, executive and judicial branches. Democrats have signaled they would not back a temporary extension without concessions, while Republicans have argued for linking any extension to broader policy moves in healthcare and federal spending.

Observers note that the House GOP planned to stay away from Washington as a show of their unwillingness to engage with Democratic alternatives, a move Democrats described as part of the broader stalemate over a spending package. If no agreement is reached, federal employees could face furloughs and agencies may have to scale back operations in nonessential programs, while the White House and the Office of Management and Budget have urged agencies to prepare for a potential shutdown.

Context: The last sustained government shutdown occurred during the 2018-2019 period, lasting 35 days, the longest in U.S. history.