House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has signaled that Democrats are not budging on their key demands ahead of a high-stakes meeting with President Donald Trump about government funding.

The federal government will enter a partial shutdown at midnight on Wednesday if Republicans and Democrats do not reach a deal on funding priorities for fiscal year (FY) 2026, which ends at the end of the day on Sept. 30.

All but one House Democrat rejected Republicans’ plan for a roughly straightforward extension of FY 2025 funding levels, through Nov. 21, aimed at giving appropriators more time for a longer-term deal.

Jeffries blasted the measure — called a continuing resolution (CR) — as partisan and has demanded that Republicans make concessions on healthcare in exchange for Democratic support.

He signaled during a last-minute news conference on Monday that Democrats would reject anything less than a written plan to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

‘No one can trust their word on healthcare. Are you kidding me? These people have been trying to repeal and displace people off the Affordable Care Act since 2010. That’s 15 years,’ Jeffries said. ‘And on behalf of the American people, we’re supposed to simply take their word that they’re willing to negotiate? The American people know that would be an unreasonable thing for us to do.’

Jeffries also pointed out that an alternate CR offered by Democrats would expand those subsidies under the ACA, colloquially known as ‘Obamacare,’ permanently.

It comes hours before he, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., are set to meet with Trump to discuss government funding at 3 p.m. on Monday.

Johnson and Thune, along with other Republicans in Congress, have been pushing Democrats to accept the deal on the table — pointing out that funding levels have remained roughly the same since former President Joe Biden’s time in office.

‘We are ready, we are willing, we are able to find a bipartisan path forward and reach a spending agreement that actually keeps the government open, but meets the needs of the American people in terms of their health, their safety, and their economic well-being related to lowering the high cost of living, as opposed to allowing tens of millions of Americans to experience dramatically increased health care costs,’ Jeffries told reporters.

‘What we will not do is support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the healthcare of the American people.’

The COVID-era Obamacare subsidies are due to expire at the end of this year without any action by Congress.

Thune told NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press’ on Sunday that he would be open to negotiating a deal but not paired with the current government funding talks.

‘We can have that conversation, but before we do, release the hostage. Set the American people free, keep the government open, and then let’s have a conversation about those premium tax credits. I’m certainly open to that. I think we all are,’ he said. 

‘I will say … that particular program is desperately in need of reform. It’s fraught with waste, fraud and abuse. So we are going to have reforms if we take action there, but I think there’s potentially a path forward.’

The GOP-led CR passed the House earlier this month largely along party lines.

It’s now on the Senate, where at least several Democrats will be needed to reach the 60-vote threshold to proceed with the bill.

Schumer is under tremendous pressure by his left flank after playing a key role in advancing Republicans’ earlier CR in March, which extended through Sept. 30.

This time, however, Jeffries assured that he and Schumer are in ‘lock-step’ on bucking the Republican plan unless a compromise is reached.

He said of their upcoming sit-down with Trump, ‘We’re heading into the meeting to have a good faith negotiation about landing the plane in a way that avoids a government shutdown but does not continue the Republican assault on the healthcare of the American people.’

‘Republicans control the House and the Senate, and there’s a Republican president. If the government shuts down, it’s because Republicans want to shut the government down,’ Jeffries said at another point.

Johnson, meanwhile, hammered Democrats’ position in an appearance on ‘Sunday Morning Futures.’

‘We passed a continuing resolution, a simple, very clean, 24-page continuing resolution to keep the government open for seven more weeks, so the appropriators can finish that process,’ Johnson said.

‘And [Schumer] said, ‘No. Instead, I want to add $1.5 trillion in new spending to a seven-week stopgap bill…we want to reinstate free healthcare to illegal aliens paid for by U.S. taxpayer dollars. We want to claw back the $50 billion that we passed, Republicans passed, in our big, beautiful bill, the Working Families Tax Cuts, to provide for rural hospitals and healthcare, and a laundry list of other partisan priorities. He knows it’s a nonstarter.’

President Donald Trump is set to attend Tuesday’s unprecedented all-hands meeting of U.S. military commanders in Quantico, Va., he said Sunday.

As speculation swirls over why generals and flag officers from around the world were summoned, Trump insisted the purpose was celebratory.

‘It’s really just a very nice meeting talking about how well we’re doing militarily, talking about being in great shape, talking about a lot of good, positive things. It’s just a good message,’ Trump told NBC News.

‘We have some great people coming in, and it’s just an ‘esprit de corps.’ You know the expression ‘esprit de corps’? That’s all it’s about. We’re talking about what we’re doing, what they’re doing, and how we’re doing.’

The gathering represents a major logistical and security feat, concentrating nearly every top U.S. military leader in one location. Trump’s attendance raises the stakes further, putting the Secret Service in charge of security.

Hundreds of generals, admirals and their senior enlisted leaders — ranked one star and above — were ordered last week to attend the meeting with War Secretary Pete Hegseth. The invitation offered no stated reason, fueling speculation it could herald mass cuts consistent with Hegseth’s push to shrink the general officer corps.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., wrote to the Pentagon seeking details on the cost of flying in officers on such short notice and whether virtual alternatives were considered. About 800 general and flag officers are stationed worldwide, and together with their enlisted advisors and aides, the number descending on Quantico could exceed 1,000, according to Duckworth. She also asked what accounts would cover the costs, whether return travel might be disrupted by a potential government shutdown, and if a cost-benefit analysis preceded the decision to meet in person.

Defense officials and analysts have suggested the meeting may preview cuts not only to the general officer ranks but also to civilian and contractor roles at bases worldwide. Others believe it could foreshadow reductions to the U.S. force posture in Europe and the Middle East, consistent with an expected national defense strategy that prioritizes homeland defense after years of emphasis on the Indo-Pacific and China.

Hegseth has pledged to cut the general officer corps by 20 percent and has already dismissed roughly two dozen senior officers. Reports also suggest he intends to use the meeting to stress his ‘warrior ethos,’ which defense sources suggest could be a way to remind commanders of their duty to remain apolitical, and reassert his personal authority over the force.

Last week, Trump signed an executive order directing law enforcement and the military to counter ‘domestic terrorism and organized political violence.’ On Sunday, at Trump’s direction, Hegseth informed the adjutant general of the Oregon National Guard that 200 troops would be deployed for 60 days to protect immigration enforcement officials facing protests. The federalized Guard members will serve under U.S. Northern Command.

Top Democrats are striking two very different notes on accountability: cheering President Donald Trump‘s felony conviction as proof that ‘no one is above the law,’ while blasting the recent indictment of former FBI Director James Comey as pure political payback.

In 2019, then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi said during a discussion at the Commonwealth Club in San Francisco that Democrats believe ‘no one is above the law,’ including the commander-in-chief. 

‘Everybody wants the president to be held accountable in the most serious way. And everybody believes, now I’m talking on the Democratic side, that no one is above the law, especially the President of the United States,’ Pelosi said.

Former President Joe Biden reiterated the ‘no one is above the law’ mantra before his White House remarks on the Middle East on May 31, 2024.

He said the New York case against Trump was ‘a state case, not a federal case,’ decided by ‘a jury of 12 citizens’ after five weeks of evidence and deliberation. 

The jury, Biden noted, ‘reached a unanimous verdict’ finding Trump guilty on 34 felony counts, while emphasizing that Trump has the right to appeal.

‘That’s how the American system of justice works,’ Biden said, calling it ‘reckless, dangerous, and irresponsible’ to claim the trial was rigged simply because of an unfavorable outcome.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., addressed Trump’s conviction in a June 3, 2024, floor speech saying that ‘former President Donald Trump is now a convicted felon.’

‘The most important takeaway from this case is that nobody’s above the law, including Donald Trump,’ he added.

On the heels of Comey’s indictment, Schumer said Sunday that he has ‘no faith in Trump’s judicial system.’

Schumer said on NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press’ that Trump ‘has turned this judicial system to be his own political fighter.’

‘He tells them to go after people he doesn’t like. He tells them to exonerate people that he likes,’ Schumer said.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., denounced what he called a ‘malicious prosecution,’ reminding reporters that Trump previously fired a prosecutor who refused to bring ‘frivolous charges.’

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, issued an even sharper rebuke. 

‘This kind of interference is a dangerous abuse of power,’ he warned. ‘By ousting a respected, independent prosecutor and replacing him with a partisan loyalist, Trump is undermining one of the most important U.S. attorney’s offices in the country and eroding the rule of law itself.’

As Democrats leaned on the ‘no one is above the law’ refrain, Trump struck back — telling reporters Friday at the White House that the indictment against the former FBI chief was about rooting out corruption, not political payback.

‘It’s about justice really, it’s not revenge,’ Trump said. ‘It’s also about the fact that you can’t let this go on. They are sick, radical left people, and they can’t get away with it, and Comey was one of the people.’

‘He wasn’t the biggest, but he’s a dirty cop,’ Trump said, adding, ‘He’s always been a dirty cop. Everybody knew it.’

Trump’s comments came after Comey was indicted by a grand jury for allegedly lying to Congress and obstructing a congressional proceeding. He was indicted on two counts: alleged false statements within the jurisdiction of the legislative branch and obstruction of a congressional proceeding.

Comey’s arraignment is set for 10 a.m. on Oct. 9 before District Judge Michael S. Nachmanoff. If convicted, Comey faces up to five years in prison.

Fox News Digital’s Michael Dorgan and Emma Bussey contributed to this report.

The clock is ticking to fund government, and so far, lawmakers do not have a path forward to avert a partial shutdown.

The Senate returned to Washington, D.C., on Monday, and congressional leaders are slated to meet with President Donald Trump to negotiate a deal on funding the government. But the last week has seen both sides point the finger at who would own closing the government.

Lawmakers have until midnight Wednesday to pass a short-term funding extension, or else the government will close. And if it does, it would be the third shutdown under Trump.

A government shutdown happens when Congress can neither pass all 12 appropriations bills needed to fund the government, nor pass a continuing resolution (CR), which typically keeps funding levels static while lawmakers hustle to finish their work on spending bills.

Since 1980, there have been 10 government shutdowns. Only three have happened since the turn of the century.

All shutdowns are different, and the impending shutdown is no exception. However, it could have more devastating effects on the federal workforce than previous shutdowns given the administration’s orders to undertake mass firings.

Programs like Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid will continue, along with the Postal Service, Veterans’ Affairs hospitals and clinics, and Immigration and Border Patrol security activities, among others. Federal employees will likely go without pay, however, and a string of agencies will see their services hampered by furloughs, like the IRS and Small Business Administration. Housing programs may also see a delay in rental assistance and loans.  

Typically, shutdowns see thousands of federal workers deemed ‘nonessential’ furloughed, but the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released a memo last week that directed agencies to ‘use this opportunity to consider reduction in force (RIF) notices for all employees’ in programs that have no other available funding source and that don’t comport with Trump’s priorities if lawmakers couldn’t fund the government.

‘RIF notices will be in addition to any furlough notices provided due to the lapse in appropriation,’ the memo read, and they will be issued ‘regardless of whether the employee is excepted or furloughed during the lapse in appropriations.’

Then there is the cost of a shutdown. While the cost of a partial closure this year is unknown, the Congressional Budget Office did an analysis of the cost of the last time the government shuttered in 2019.

The report, published in January 2019, found that the shutdown saw roughly $18 billion in federal spending delayed, which led to a dip in that year’s first quarter gross domestic product of $8 billion. The report noted roughly $3 billion of that would not be recovered.

It also found that federal workers who received delayed payments and private businesses were the hardest hit.

‘Some of those private-sector entities will never recoup that lost income,’ the report stated.

Congressional Republicans and Democrats are at a stalemate on the current CR, not so much because of what’s in the bill — it would keep the government open until Nov. 21 and includes tens of millions in new spending for lawmakers’ security — but because of what it lacks.

Democratic lawmakers demanded that the short-term extension at least include an extension to expiring Obamacare premium subsidies and have warned that if Congress doesn’t act, millions of Americans will see their health care costs increase.

While the subsidies don’t expire until the end of the year, congressional Democrats have noted that insurers are gearing up to send out new rates on Oct. 1.

But Senate Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., have said that conversations about the subsidies can happen after the government is funded, but that has so far not been enough for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate 
Democrats.

‘Fundamentally, nothing has changed, though, and the choice remains the same: Democrats can either vote for a clean, short-term, nonpartisan CR that prioritizes the American people, or they can choose a completely avoidable shutdown that prioritizes politics above all else,’ Thune told NBC’s ‘Meet the Press.’

Both Thune and Schumer, along with House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., will meet with Trump Monday afternoon. The confab comes after Trump canceled a meeting with the Democratic leaders earlier this week.

Schumer and Jeffries said in a joint statement after a new meeting was set that ‘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 health care crisis,’ they said. ‘Time is running out.’