Government heading toward shutdown

DEMOCRATS and Republicans on Capitol Hill are digging in for a fight over a stopgap spending bill as a government shutdown looms.

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DEMOCRATS and Republicans on Capitol Hill are digging in for a fight over a stopgap spending bill as a government shutdown looms.

(AL DRAGO Bloomberg)

Vice President JD Vance said he thought the country was “headed toa shutdown,” labeling Democratic calls for healthcare tax credits an “absurd” demand that amounts to an “excuse for shutting down the people’s government.”

“You don’t use your policy disagreements as leverage to not pay our troops,” Vance said. “That’s exactly what they're proposing out there.”

When the government shuts down, the law requires all nonessential government services to cease, requiring most federal workers to go on furlough or work without pay. Essential services — such as national security functions and air traffic control—are not affected.

Ahead of the meeting, Trump told reporters he hoped Democrats would agree to “keeping our country open,” before proceeding to criticize their proposals.

“They're going to have to do some things, because their ideas are not very good ones,” Trump said. “They're very bad for our country. So we'll see how that works out.”

But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DNY.) said he thought his message was beginning to resonate with the president after their meeting Monday afternoon.