Biden meets with congressional leaders amid shutdown threat

US President Joe Biden has met with congressional leaders to discuss funding the government amid the looming threat of a shutdown.

Biden will meet with top Democrats and Republicans in the House and Senate and discussed with them the “urgency” of passing a bill to fund the government by midnight Friday.

Senate Democratic Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday that an agreement is still elusive.

Schumer urged House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, to “show more initiative” and find a bipartisan compromise despite objections from his party’s most conservative lawmakers.

Johnson wrote on social media X on Sunday that Republicans continue to negotiate in good faith.

He said many of the provisions still being negotiated are relatively recent demands from Democrats. He expressed hope for a result “in the very near future.”

Funding for some federal agencies, including the Department of Transportation, expires March 1. For others, such as the Defense Department, that date is March 8.

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