NBC: Trump to meet with congressional leaders as shutdown looms

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, are expected to attend. Trump abruptly canceled a planned meeting with Democratic leaders on Thursday at the urging of Johnson and Thune. The president called the Democrats' spending demands "frivolous and ridiculous." Since then, Jeffries and Schumer have publicly traded barbs with Trump over the looming government shutdown and Democrats' demands to include health care measures in the temporary government funding bill. According to an aide, Schumer called Thune on Friday and urged him to persuade President Trump to meet because of the rapidly approaching shutdown deadline.

Jeffries and Schumer issued a joint statement on Saturday evening. "President Trump has once again agreed to a meeting in the Oval Office," the Democratic leaders said. "As we have said repeatedly, Democrats will meet anywhere, anytime, with anyone to negotiate a bipartisan spending deal that meets the needs of the American people. We are determined to avoid a government shutdown and address the Republican health crisis. Time is running out," the statement emphasized. Republicans insist they will not compromise on passage of the short-term funding bill for seven weeks, and any negotiations could occur during the appropriations process.

Tensions between the two sides escalated this week when the White House Office of Management and Budget directed federal agencies to prepare mass layoff plans in the event of a government shutdown. Government funding expires on September 30, putting the jobs of millions of federal workers at risk. Congress must pass or extend the spending bill by October 1 to avert a shutdown.