White House meeting ends without deal as shutdown looms
With days to go before the Oct. 1 funding deadline, a Sept. 29 White House meeting between President Donald Trump and congressional leaders ended without a deal, with participants warning, “We’re headed to a shutdown.” The stalemate follows the House’s Sept. 19 passage of a stopgap bill that stalled in the Senate, and ongoing talks in which Republicans are pushing a funding extension to Nov. 21 while Democrats seek to reverse Medicaid cuts and extend ACA premium tax credits; the House isn’t expected to hold votes this week. As the likelihood of a partial shutdown grows, the White House budget office has ordered agencies to prepare reduction-in-force plans, while essential services like Social Security, Medicare, VA health care and USPS would continue and Minnesota’s MSP airport and other federal operations could face disruptions, with furloughed workers guaranteed back pay.
📰 Sources (7)
- Republicans are proposing a short-term funding bill through Nov. 21; Democrats seek reversing Medicaid cuts and extending ACA premium tax credits.
- House is not expected to hold any votes this week, dimming chances for a last-minute deal.
- Clarifies which services continue: Social Security and Medicare continue, VA health care and burials proceed, and USPS is unaffected.
- Confirms furloughed federal employees are guaranteed back pay under a 2019 law.
- Details that OMB has threatened potential reduction-in-force notices for programs whose funding expires Oct. 1 and lack alternatives.
- After a Sept. 29, 2025 White House meeting with congressional leaders, no agreement was reached to avert a federal shutdown.
- Participants signaled pessimism about averting a shutdown, summarized by the post‑meeting quote 'We’re headed to a shutdown.'
- This is the first official readout of the Sept. 29 leaders’ meeting outcome, following earlier scheduling of the meeting.
- Top congressional leaders are heading to the White House on September 29 for talks with President Trump as a possible shutdown nears.
- The article frames the shutdown risk as escalating immediately ahead of the federal funding deadline.
- The White House Office of Management and Budget directed federal agencies to draft plans for mass firings ahead of a potential government shutdown.
- The directive represents an executive-branch contingency action beyond congressional negotiations previously reported.
- Reported Sept. 25, 2025, as shutdown risk persists.
- President Donald Trump will meet with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries to discuss averting a government shutdown.
- The meeting was announced September 22, 2025, as the shutdown deadline approaches.
- The U.S. Senate failed to advance a spending bill on September 19, 2025.
- This action increases the likelihood of a partial federal government shutdown absent further congressional action.