The top four leaders of Congress left the White House on Tuesday after a “violent” sit-in with President Biden, as the possibility of a partial government shutdown this weekend looms ever closer.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell have all agreed to reach some kind of agreement on government funding by Friday. He acknowledged that he is committed to finding the right person, but offered little insight into how. they were going to do that.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the upcoming federal spending deadlines of March 1 and March 8 and the need to pass aid to Ukraine.
Schumer said the debate over government funding has been “productive and tense,” adding that a short extension of funding for fiscal year 2023, known as a continuing resolution (CR), will buy time to reach an agreement. He said it may be necessary. .
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From left to right: House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D.N.Y.), and Hakeem Jeffrey. Minority Leader of the House of Representatives (DN.Y.) (Getty Images)
Mr Jeffries said the talks were “honest” and “candid” and included “robust discussions on the border”.
Mr Johnson, who spoke one-on-one with Mr Biden after the plenary session, said the conversation between the two was “frank and honest”.
“The Speaker has made it clear that he wants to avoid a government shutdown,” Schumer said after the meeting. “We have made it clear that that means not letting the government spending bill lapse and that we will need some CRs to achieve that. But we are on track and this We hope to be able to complete this really quickly.” ”
He said that while differences remained, they were not “insurmountable”.
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But after saying he was “done” with the CR in November, Johnson has given no indication that he would agree to putting another CR on the table.
If the government shutdown lasts beyond the weekend, it could lead to an abrupt shutdown of government agencies and the possible furloughing of dozens of federal employees.
“We’ve been working in good faith around the clock for months, weeks, every day and literally around the clock in the last few days to get that job done. We’re very optimistic. ” he said. Meeting at the White House.
The top four leaders of Congress met with President Biden and Vice President Harris on Tuesday. (Getty Images)
“I hope other leaders will come here and say the same thing to you. I believe we can reach agreement on these issues and prevent a government shutdown. .And that is our first responsibility.”
Schumer later told reporters that the main tension in the meeting arose from a discussion about sending aid to Ukraine.
“A knife would help reduce the intensity of that room,” he said.
Schumer said that during the meeting, Johnson was cornered by his fellow attendees, including McConnell, the only Republican present.
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“The meeting on Ukraine was one of the most tense of the many I have ever had in the Oval Office,” he recalled. “The President, the Vice President, Leader McConnell, Leader Jeffries, and I have made it clear how important this is to America. This is very, very important and we cannot wait a second. Because in a month, two months, or even three months, we’ll probably lose the war, NATO will split apart at best, and our allies will turn away from us. ”
He added: “So we told the Speaker to get it done.”
Johnson told reporters he wants to avoid a government shutdown. (Getty Images)
Schumer has also argued that Johnson must impose border security measures in exchange for a House vote on aid to Ukraine, suggesting that Johnson is under pressure from the right to stick to this position.
Reiterating this, Prime Minister Boris Johnson told reporters that the border crisis was the main focus of the talks.
“My purpose when I came today was to express what I believe to be an obvious truth, and that is that we must first address the needs of America. America. When we talk about the needs of the United States, we need to talk more about open borders,” Johnson said. He said.
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“There’s logic to solving the border issue,” Schumer countered. “We want to solve it, but we have to solve the Ukraine problem now, because there is a way to solve it quickly, because there is broad bipartisan agreement on it. It’s going to take a little more work, but we’re willing to do that.” We’ll work to get it done, but don’t hold back on claims against Ukraine because of it.” ”
Senate and White House negotiators announced a bipartisan agreement earlier this year on border security and foreign aid, including $60 billion for Ukraine, but overwhelming criticism from Republicans who believe the border measures are insufficient In the face of this, the effort failed.
