Government Shutdown Looms: Trump and Dems Failed at Last-Ditch Meeting

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WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump and Democrats emerged from a private White House meeting on September 29 without an agreement to keep the federal government open. This sets up the possibility of a wide-scale shutdown beginning in about 30 hours, if funding expires at midnight on September 30.

After sitting down with the four top congressional leaders, the president and lawmakers failed to strike a deal. If funding runs out, a shutdown will start at 12:01 a.m. on October 1.

“Significant and meaningful differences remain,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries after the meeting with the president. House Speaker Mike Johnson, also in the meeting, blamed Democrats for any potential shutdown, saying they wouldn’t acknowledge “the simple facts.”

The government’s partial closure will dramatically reduce staffing at many federal agencies, while workers deemed essential, such as military and law enforcement personnel, will continue working.

In a unique start to his ruling against President Donald Trump’s administration on September 30, U.S. District Court Judge William Young included a scanned handwritten note sent to his office. The note read: “Trump has pardons and tanks – what do you have?” At the top of Young’s opinion in AAUP v. Rubio, which ruled that Trump’s effort to deport foreign-born student protesters was unconstitutional.

October 8, 2025

Democrats have been urging Republicans to address a list of requests related to health care in exchange for their votes to keep the government open. These include reversing recent Medicaid cuts and extending enhanced health insurance subsidies set to expire by year-end.

“We laid out some of the consequences of what is happening in health care,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said after the meeting, suggesting Trump may have heard these concerns for the first time.

Led by Trump, Republicans have criticized Democrats’ requests as unreasonable. “The Democrats won’t do the right thing, so we’re headed to a shutdown,” Vice President JD Vance told reporters following the meeting.

Complicating matters further, the House is unlikely to reconvene until after any potential shutdown begins. This leaves the Senate fully responsible for voting on funding bills before midnight on October 1 that have already failed.

Zachary Schermele is a congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com and follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.