Shutdown looms amid budget clash

Dems, Republicans dig in on demands

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The United States government was heading towards a shutdown yesterday, with funding expiring at midnight and Democrats and Republicans digging in on their respective demands.

A last-gasp meeting at the White House on Monday yielded no breakthrough on the issue, with top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer saying afterwards that "large differences" remained between both sides.

His party, in the minority in both chambers of Congress, is seeking to flex its rare leverage over the federal government, eight months into Donald Trump's barnstorming second presidency that has seen entire government agencies dismantled.

Rules in the 100-member Senate require government funding bills to receive 60 votes — seven more than the Republicans currently control.