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ISLAMABAD: Former US President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton have agreed to testify in the congressional investigation into the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, days before a vote on whether to hold the couple in criminal contempt for previously refusing to appear, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) reported.&nbsp;The House Oversight Committee had previously approved a measure to hold the Clintons in contempt, following a months-long standoff over subpoenas. The committee, led by Republicans but supported by some Democrats, said the couple had failed to cooperate despite repeated opportunities, the report said.&nbsp;The Clintons&rsquo; spokesman, Angel Ure&ntilde;a, confirmed on social media that both would appear before the panel, describing the negotiations as conducted &ldquo;in good faith.&rdquo; Ure&ntilde;a added that the former president and former secretary of state &ldquo;look forward to setting a precedent that applies to everyone.&rdquo;&nbsp;According to the BBC, the Clintons have previously submitted sworn statements to the committee and insist they have already provided all the &ldquo;limited information&rdquo; they hold regarding Epstein. They have dismissed the subpoenas as a political maneuver, saying they were &ldquo;nothing more than a ploy to attempt to embarrass political rivals.&rdquo;&nbsp;Bill Clinton, who had been acquainted with Epstein, has denied any knowledge of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/epstein-files-claim-modi-sang-and-danced-to-court-us-president" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Epstein&rsquo;s sexual abuse</a>&nbsp;and has stated that he ended contact with the financier two decades ago. Released flight logs and photos show Clinton took several international trips on Epstein&rsquo;s private jet in 2002 and 2003, and visited Epstein&rsquo;s estate, though Clinton&rsquo;s team emphasizes these interactions occurred before Epstein&rsquo;s crimes came to light.&nbsp;In a letter to Committee Chairman James Comer last month, the Clintons criticized his handling of the investigation, accusing him of prioritizing political objectives over uncovering facts. Comer responded that the subpoenas were approved through a bipartisan vote and reaffirmed that &ldquo;no one is above the law.&rdquo;&nbsp;If the depositions proceed,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/obama-clinton-say-killings-by-agents-should-be-wakeup-call-for-us" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Bill Clinton</a>&nbsp;would become the first former US president to testify before a congressional panel since Gerald Ford in 1983. The dates of the testimony have not yet been disclosed.

Bill Clinton, 42nd US President, and his wife, Hillary Rodham Clinton, 67th US Secretary of State, arrive at the Booksellers Room of the White House on the occasion of the State Dinner with the Kenyan president at the White House in Washington, DC, on May

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The committee, led by Republicans but supported by some Democrats, says the couple had failed to cooperate despite repeated opportunities.

Clintons to testify in Epstein investigation ahead of possible contempt vote

WASHINGTON:&nbsp;The US government entered a partial shutdown Saturday as a midnight funding deadline passed without Congress approving a 2026 budget, though disruption was expected to be limited with the House set to move early next week to ratify a Senate-backed deal. The funding lapse followed a breakdown in negotiations driven by Democratic anger over the killing of two protesters in Minneapolis by federal immigration agents, which derailed talks over new money for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). &quot;Instead of going after drug smugglers, child predators, and human traffickers, the Trump Administration is wasting valuable resources targeting peaceful protestors in Chicago and <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/thousands-rally-in-minneapolis-as-immigration-anger-boils" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Minneapolis</a>,&quot; Senate Democratic Minority Whip Dick Durbin posted on social media. &quot;This Administration continues to make Americans less safe.&quot; Federal operations affectedRoughly three-quarters of federal operations are affected, potentially triggering shutdown procedures across a wide range of agencies and operations, from education and health to housing and defense. Federal departments were expected to begin implementing shutdown plans overnight, but congressional leaders in both parties said the Senate&#39;s action made a short disruption far more likely than a prolonged impasse. If the House approves the package as expected early next week, funding would be restored within days, limiting the practical impact of the shutdown on government services, contractors, and federal workers. If the shutdown extended more than a few days, however, tens of thousands of federal workers would risk being put on unpaid leave or working without their money until funding is restored. Funding bills&nbsp;Late Friday, the Senate passed a package clearing five outstanding funding bills to cover most federal agencies through September, along with a two-week stopgap measure to keep DHS operating while lawmakers continue negotiations over <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/trump-battles-minneapolis-shooting-fallout-as-agents-put-on-leave" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">immigration enforcement policy</a>. The House of Representatives was out of session as the deadline expired and is not scheduled to return until Monday. President Donald Trump backed the Senate deal and urged swift House action, signaling he wanted to avoid a prolonged shutdown -- the second of his second term -- after a record-length stoppage last fall disrupted federal services for more than a month. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Political backlash&nbsp;</h2>The Senate breakthrough came only after Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina lifted a procedural block that had stalled the package late Thursday. Graham had objected to provisions in the DHS stopgap and to House-passed language repealing an earlier measure that allowed senators to sue the Justice Department if their phone records were seized during past investigations. Graham agreed to release his hold after Senate leaders committed to holding future votes on legislation he is sponsoring to crack down on so-called &quot;sanctuary cities&quot; that refuse to cooperate with federal deportation operations. Democrats, meanwhile, have remained united in opposing new DHS funding without changes to immigration enforcement following the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good in Minneapolis. Money for immigration agenciesTheir deaths intensified scrutiny of federal agents&#39; conduct and hardened opposition to approving money for immigration agencies without new guardrails. Party leaders have accused immigration authorities of operating with insufficient oversight and have demanded reforms, including tighter warrant requirements, limits on certain enforcement tactics, and greater accountability for agents in the field. Much of the US media interpreted the White House&#39;s willingness to split DHS funding from the broader budget package as a recognition that the administration needed to recalibrate its deportation strategy after the political backlash over the Minneapolis deaths. Republicans are divided over that approach. While some lawmakers have acknowledged the need for changes following the shootings, conservatives have warned against concessions they say could weaken immigration enforcement. Several have signaled they will push their own priorities during the upcoming DHS negotiations, including measures targeting states and cities that limit cooperation with federal authorities. &lsquo;Orderly shutdown&rsquo;Although Congress has already approved six of the 12 annual funding bills, those measures account for only a minority of discretionary spending. The remaining bills fund large swaths of the federal government, making the lapse significant if it ends up being prolonged. The Office of Management and Budget on Friday night issued a memo ordering agencies to prepare for an &ldquo;orderly shutdown,&rdquo; saying:&nbsp;&ldquo;It is our hope that this lapse will be short.&rdquo;

Roughly three-quarters of federal operations are affected, potentially triggering shutdown procedures across a wide range of agencies and operations, from education and health to housing and defense.

US government shuts down, but quick resolution expected

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump&#39;s second term has seen the United States go all-in to boost Big Oil and block renewables -- yet a wave of state and local climate-damage lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry continues to advance. Now Republicans are moving to shut them down with a two-pronged strategy: pushing for a federal shield law and urging the Supreme Court to intervene. &quot;The issue for the oil companies is that they know they did it,&quot; Richard Wiles, president of the nonprofit Center for Climate Integrity, told AFP. &quot;Their only avenue out of this is to get some kind of a waiver of liability, make the cases go away, bar the courthouse doors, get a &#39;get out of jail free card.&#39;&quot; Dozens of cases modeled on successful actions against the tobacco industry in the 1990s are playing out in state courts nationwide -- including claims of injuries, failure to warn, and even racketeering, meaning acting like a criminal enterprise. Some have been dismissed, and none have yet gone to trial -- though crucially, the conservative-dominated Supreme Court has repeatedly declined to intervene and block them. They have no shameIn June, 16 Republican state attorneys general urged the Trump administration to enact a shield law to end such cases. &quot;Under the banner of &#39;global climate change,&#39; they have effectively declared an all-out war on traditional American energy,&quot; their letter said, calling the lawsuits &quot;lawfare against the energy industry.&quot; It faulted the Supreme Court for not moving the cases to federal court, where companies believe they stand a better chance of winning, and cited a 2005 statute granting gunmakers a similar liability shield. &quot;They have no shame,&quot; said Pat Parenteau, an emeritus professor of environmental law at the University of Vermont, pointing to the epidemic of gun violence. &quot;I mean, come on, that&#39;s your argument?&quot; Congress has yet to act, but observers see worrying signs that it may be edging closer. A recent appropriations bill for the District of Columbia would bar the city from using funds to enforce consumer protection laws &quot;against oil and gas companies for environmental claims.&quot; And just last week, more than 100 House Republicans filed a friend-of-the-court brief in one Colorado case, urging the Supreme Court to &quot;put an end to these unconstitutional attempts to dictate national energy policy.&quot; AFP contacted Nebraska and West Virginia, which led the letter, as well as the Department of Justice, oil majors ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, and BP, and the American Petroleum Institute. None responded. Coordinated campaign&nbsp;The Trump administration, for its part, has escalated attacks on Democrat-led states passing &quot;polluter pays&quot; laws -- suing for example, New York and Vermont to block &quot;Superfunds&quot; that would require companies to pay billions toward climate and extreme weather resilience. The Justice Department has also asked the Supreme Court to weigh in through a friend-of-the-court brief in the Colorado case, where the state&#39;s top court allowed Boulder County to proceed with its lawsuit against Suncor Energy. A constellation of conservative legal scholars has joined what appears to be a coordinated push, including a <a data-fr-linked="true" href="//FoxNews.com">FoxNews.com</a> op-ed by John Yoo -- author of the Bush-era &quot;torture memos&quot; -- urging the Supreme Court to &quot;reaffirm federal authority over national energy.&quot; Results in the cases have so far been mixed: oil firms have won dismissals in some states, while others have allowed cases to advance. &quot;There hasn&#39;t been a big verdict yet. It&#39;s not clear there&#39;s going to be a big verdict. And you&#39;ve always got the Supreme Court lurking in the background,&quot; said Parenteau. That may explain why Congress has hesitated to act, he added -- though &quot;given the craziness that&#39;s going on in America right now, anything&#39;s possible.&quot; Environmental groups have urged Democrats to hold firm, and this summer, the 3,000-member National Association of Counties passed a resolution opposing &quot;any legislation that would limit or preempt counties&#39; access to courts or give companies immunity from lawsuits.&quot; Brigid Shea, commissioner for Texas&#39; Travis County, who helped lead the resolution, told AFP local governments were being &quot;walloped&quot; by extreme weather. &quot;We have to protect our access to the courts,&quot; she said. &quot;This is fundamental to our democratic process.&quot;

Republicans are moving to protect oil giants as climate lawsuits gain traction, pushing for federal immunity and Supreme Court backing. Critics say it’s an effort to dodge accountability as local governments pursue damages for climate-related destruction.

US Republicans seek to shield oil giants as climate lawsuits advance

WASHINGTON:&nbsp;The bitter tribalism that drove the United States into a government shutdown is putting compromise out of reach, analysts say -- and threatening to turn a staring contest between the Democrats and Donald Trump&#39;s Republicans into a protracted crisis. As the nation enters its second week with federal agencies paralyzed, multiple strategists with vivid memories of previous standoffs told AFP the president and his foes could be in it for the long haul. &lsquo;For weeks&rsquo;&nbsp;&quot;It&#39;s possible this shutdown drags on for weeks, not just days,&quot; said Andrew Koneschusky, a former press secretary for Senator Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader at the center of the latest deadlock. &quot;Right now, both sides are dug in and there&#39;s very little talk of compromise.&quot; At the heart of the showdown is a Democratic demand for an extension of health care subsidies that are set to expire, meaning sharply increased costs for millions of low-income Americans. On Sunday, Trump blamed minority Democrats for blocking his funding resolution, which needs a handful of their votes.&nbsp; &lsquo;Ready to go back&rsquo;&nbsp;&quot;They&#39;re causing it. We&#39;re ready to go back,&quot; Trump told reporters at the White House, sounding resigned to a shutdown dragging on. Trump also told reporters Sunday his administration has already started to permanently fire -- not merely furlough -- federal workers, again blaming his rivals for &quot;causing the loss of a lot of jobs.&quot; In March, when the threat of a shutdown last loomed, Democrats blinked first, voting for a six-month Republican resolution to keep the coffers stacked despite policy misgivings. But Schumer -- the top Senate Democrat -- was lambasted by the party&#39;s base, and will be reluctant to cave this time around as he faces potential primary challenges from the left. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">&#39;Maximum pain&#39;&nbsp;</h2>For now, Senate Republicans are banking on their Democratic opponents giving in as they repeatedly force votes. &quot;I could see a temporary agreement coming from both parties by the&nbsp;end of October,&quot; said Jeff Le, a former senior official in California state politics who negotiated with the first Trump administration. &quot;Anything beyond two months would halt government operations seriously and potentially impact national and homeland security considerations,&nbsp;casting blame on both parties.&quot; A shift in strategy would likely depend on either side noticing that public sentiment is turning against them, analysts told AFP. Polling so far has been mixed, although Republicans have been taking more flak than Democrats overall. Trump presided over the longest shutdown in US history in 2018 and 2019, when federal agencies were shut down for 35 days. This time around, the president has been ratcheting up pressure by threatening liberal policy priorities and mass layoffs of public sector workers. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">The Trump factor&nbsp;</h2>James Druckman, a political science professor at the University of Rochester, views Trump&#39;s intransigence as a reason to believe this standoff could rival the 2019 record. &quot;The Trump administration views itself as having an unchecked mandate and thus generally does not compromise,&quot; he told AFP. &quot;Democrats have been critiqued for not standing strongly enough, and the last compromise did not result in any positive outcome for Democrats. Thus, politically, they are inclined to stand firm.&quot; The 2018‑2019 shutdown cost the economy $11 billion in the short term, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office -- and $3 billion was never recovered. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has warned that the latest shutdown could wreak havoc on GDP growth. 12 days at mostFor California-based financial analyst Michael Ashley Schulman, the economic realities of the shutdown may ultimately force a compromise. &quot;If Wall Street gets spooked and Treasury yields spike, even the most ideologically caffeinated will suddenly discover a deep commitment to bipartisan solutions,&quot; he said. Not all analysts are gloomy about the prospects for a quick resolution. Aaron Cutler, head of the congressional oversight and investigations practice at global law firm Hogan Lovells and a former staffer in the House, predicts the shutdown will last 12 days at most. &quot;Senate Democrats will blink first... While the shutdown continues, there will be no congressional hearings and a lot of work at the agencies will be paused,&quot; he said. &quot;That&#39;s a win for many Democrats in Congress, but they don&#39;t want the blame for it.&quot;

Analysts warn the US government shutdown could last weeks, as deep partisan divisions stall compromise. Trump blames Democrats, while both parties brace for political fallout, economic damage, and public pressure to resolve the crisis.

US government shutdown may last weeks, analysts warn

WASHINGTON: The United States (US) government shutdown is set to stretch into next week after senators voted Friday for a fourth time to reject a funding fix proposed by President Donald Trump&#39;s Republicans. Federal agencies have been out of money since Wednesday -- with a wide range of public services crippled -- as a result of deadlocked talks in Congress on how to keep the lights on. Tourist sites such as the Washington Monument have closed, key data on employment has been delayed and some official websites have ground to a halt, although other areas of government have yet to be affected. 750,000 employeesSome 750,000 employees are likely to be put on furlough -- a kind of enforced leave with backpay after the shutdown -- as the funding crisis deepens. Senate leaders have no plans to keep the upper chamber of Congress in session over the weekend, meaning Friday&#39;s vote on a short-term fix was the last chance of the week to end the crisis. At the center of the standoff is a Democratic demand for an extension of health care subsidies that are due to expire -- meaning sharply increased costs for millions of low-income Americans. Republicans -- who control the legislature and the White House but need Democratic votes on government funding bills -- have announced no plans to address the issue. The Democrats are trying to force Republicans&#39; hand by blocking a Trump-backed funding resolution that needs a handful of their votes. &lsquo;This madness must end&rsquo;The White House said the Democratic posture amounted to &quot;an intentional sabotage of our country.&quot; &quot;This madness must end,&quot; Trump&#39;s press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. &quot;President Trump and Republicans are calling on Democrats to reopen the government immediately on behalf of the American public.&quot; Amid widespread pessimism over the possibility of a quick solution, Republicans voiced in Congress hopes that the latest failure might push some moderates in the opposition to cross the aisle. <h2 style="line-height: 2;">Permanent redundancies&nbsp;</h2>&quot;Hopefully over the weekend, they&#39;ll have a chance to think about it,&quot; Republican Senate leader John Thune told reporters at the US Capitol. &quot;Maybe some of these conversations start to result in something to where we can start moving some votes and actually get this thing passed.&quot; Complicating efforts to strike a deal is the threat from Trump to turn thousands of the planned furloughs into permanent redundancies, strip funding and slash benefits as he ramps up pressure on the Democrats. The administration has also been accused of allowing government officials to use partisan language in messaging about the shutdown after the Department of Housing and Urban Development on Tuesday posted a notice on its website blaming the shutdown on the &quot;Radical Left.&quot; Altered email messages&nbsp;The New York Times reported Friday that some furloughed Education Department staff had noticed their out-of-office email messages being altered without their knowledge to point the finger at Democrats. &quot;Unfortunately, Democrat Senators are blocking passage of H.R. 5371 in the Senate which has led to a lapse in appropriations,&quot; the emails said, according to the Times. With an announcement on layoffs expected any day, Trump&#39;s budget chief Russ Vought is planning to brief Republican senators next week. The House of Representatives has been in recess and Republican Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters he has been meeting the president ahead of its return to discuss plans for layoffs. &lsquo;Terrified&rsquo;Johnson accused Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of pushing the shutdown because the veteran New Yorker is &quot;terrified&quot; of left-wing activists grabbing his seat in 2028 elections. &quot;Chuck Schumer is a far-left, progressive politician but he&#39;s not far enough left for this base and so he&#39;s got to show a fight against the president,&quot; Johnson said.

The US government shutdown will continue into next week after Senate Republicans' funding proposal failed again. Democrats demand healthcare subsidy extensions, while both sides trade blame amid growing furloughs, service disruptions, and partisan tensions.

US government shutdown to drag into next week

WASHINGTON: Hopes for a quick end to the government shutdown were fading Friday as Republicans and Democrats dug in for a prolonged fight and President Donald Trump readied plans to unleash layoffs and cuts across the federal government.&nbsp;Senators were headed back to the Capitol for another vote on government funding on the third day of the shutdown, but there has been no sign of any real progress toward ending their standoff.&nbsp; Democrats are demanding that Congress extend health care benefits, while Republicans are trying to wear them down with day after day of voting on a House-passed bill that would reopen the government temporarily, mostly at current spending levels.&nbsp;&ldquo;Until they have eight or hopefully 10 or more people who want to, decide they want to end the government shutdown, I&#39;m not sure this goes anywhere,&rdquo; Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Thursday.&nbsp;Although Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress, the Senate&#39;s filibuster rules make it necessary for the government funding legislation to gain support from at least 60 of the 100 senators.&nbsp; That&#39;s given Democrats a rare opportunity to use their 47 Senate seats to hold out in exchange for policy concessions. The party has chosen to rally on the issue of health care, believing it could be key to their path back to power in Washington.&nbsp;Their primary demand is that Congress extend tax credits that were boosted during the COVID-19 pandemic for health care plans offered under the Affordable Care Act marketplace.&nbsp;Standing on the steps of the US Capitol on Thursday, House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said, &ldquo;Understand this, over the last few days and over the next few days, what you&rsquo;re going to see is more than 20 million Americans experience dramatically increased health care premiums, co-pays and deductibles because of the Republican unwillingness to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits.&rdquo;&nbsp;The shutdown gambleDemocrats are running the high-risk strategy of effectively voting for a government shutdown to make their stand. Trump has vowed to make it as painful as possible for them.&nbsp;The Republican president has called the government funding lapse an &ldquo;unprecedented opportunity&rdquo; to make vast cuts to federal agencies and potentially lay off federal workers, rather than the typical practice of furloughing them.&nbsp; White House budget director Russ Vought has already announced that he is withholding funds for infrastructure projects in states with Democratic senators.&nbsp;Jeffries displayed no signs of budging under those threats.&nbsp;&ldquo;The cruelty that they might unleash on everyday Americans using the pretense of a shutdown is only going to backfire against them,&rdquo; he said during an interview with The Associated Press and other outlets at the Capitol. Roughly 750,000 federal employees could be furloughed, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, and they could lose out on $400 million in daily wages.&nbsp; House Speaker Mike Johnson said Thursday that &ldquo;real pain is being inflicted upon the American people because 44 Democrats in the Senate have voted for the third time to reject&rdquo;&nbsp;&nbsp;Who will take the blame?The American public usually spreads the blame around to both major political parties when it comes to a government shutdown.&nbsp; While Trump took a significant portion of the blame during the last partial government shutdown in 2018 as he demanded funding for a US-Mexico border wall, this standoff could end differently because now it is Democrats making the policy demands. Both sides expressed confidence that the other would ultimately be found at fault. In the House, party leaders seemed to be moving farther apart rather than closer to making a deal to end the shutdown.&nbsp;Talks in the SenateA few senators have engaged in bipartisan talks about launching negotiations on extending the ACA tax credits for one year while the Senate votes to reopen the government for several weeks.&nbsp;As senators prepared for their last scheduled vote for the week on Friday, they appeared resigned to allow the shutdown to continue at least into next week.&nbsp;

The US government shutdown is dragging on as Democrats and Republicans fight over health care benefits. President Trump is preparing layoffs and spending cuts, raising worries for federal workers and the wider economy.

Hopes fade for end to shutdown as Trump readies layoffs and cuts

The US government is on the brink of its first federal government shutdown in almost seven years, with prospects looking bleak for a last-minute compromise in Congress to avoid closures beginning at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday. On Tuesday, the Senate was holding a roll call on the government funding bill. The Senate is voting &mdash; one more time &mdash; on a temporary bill to fund the government and avert a federal shutdown. No different outcome But the outcome may be no different than the last time. Democrats are rejecting the Republican bill that would fund operations into mid-November because it fails to include the funds they are demanding to save health care programs.&nbsp; A Democratic-led bill that includes funding was again defeated. Democrats and Republicans are in a stalemate over health care funding and spending. Congress angrily blamed each other and refused to budge from their positions on Tuesday as hundreds of thousands of federal workers faced furloughs or layoffs. Federal funding To avoid it, the Senate would have to pass a House measure that would extend federal funding for seven weeks while lawmakers finish their work on annual spending bills. Some government functions &mdash; such as NASA&rsquo;s space missions, President Donald Trump&rsquo;s immigration crackdown, and certain public health work at the FDA and the USDA &mdash; would continue during a shutdown. Earlier Tuesday, Trump emphasized his vision of using the military for domestic purposes during a speech to top US military officials.&nbsp; He emphasized handling &ldquo;the enemy within,&rdquo; referring to criminals and immigrants who are in the country illegally. Trump was joined by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth at the unusual gathering of hundreds of US military leaders who were abruptly summoned to Virginia from around the world for an unveiling of new directives to end &ldquo;woke&rdquo; culture in the military.

Congress faces a looming federal government shutdown as Senate votes on a temporary funding bill. Democrats reject the Republican proposal over healthcare funding, while both sides remain deadlocked, risking furloughs for hundreds of thousands of federal workers. 

Congress nearing deadline to avert US government shutdown

ISLAMABAD: A White House meeting on Monday with top Republican and Democratic congressional leaders yielded no budget breakthrough, with both sides trading blame less than 36 hours before government funding runs out, AFP reported. After sitting down at the White House, the president and the four top congressional leaders failed to strike a deal.&nbsp; If funding expires at midnight on October 1 &ndash; which appeared likely absent any unexpected breakthrough &ndash; a shutdown will start at 12:01 a.m, USA Today reported. &quot;There was a frank and direct discussion with the president of the United States and Republican leaders,&quot; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters after the meeting with the president. But he added that &quot;significant and meaningful differences remain.&quot; &quot;Large differences&quot; remained between the two sides, top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer told reporters after the last-gasp meeting hosted by President Donald Trump, AFP reported.<div class="fr-embed responsive-video"><div class="video-wrapper aspect-video"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-8" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-8&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1972797376449356026&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=afd23c9fa73d0b6fc1cfc140ce94704cdd1d8176&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="width: 550px; height: 648px; min-height: 0px; position: static; visibility: visible;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div></div>Schumer, whose party is in the minority, said &quot;it&#39;s up to the Republicans whether they want a shutdown or not,&quot; adding that he had made &quot;some proposals&quot; to Trump. &quot;A gun to the American people&#39;s head&quot;Vice President JD Vance meanwhile accused the Democrats of putting &quot;a gun to the American people&#39;s head&quot; with their funding demands. &quot;I think we&#39;re headed to a shutdown because the Democrats won&#39;t do the right thing,&quot; he said.<div class="fr-embed responsive-video"><div class="video-wrapper aspect-video"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-7" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-7&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1972786807592083582&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2F&sessionId=afd23c9fa73d0b6fc1cfc140ce94704cdd1d8176&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="width: 100%; height: 100%; min-height: 0px;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div></div>Without Congress passing a bill to fund federal operations before midnight Tuesday night, the government will partially close up shop -- and plunge Washington into a new round of political crisis. A shutdown would see non-essential operations grind to a halt, hundreds of thousands of civil servants temporarily left without pay, and payment of many social safety net benefits disrupted. Such shutdowns are deeply unpopular in the United States, and Democrats and Republicans alike try to avoid the scenario -- while blaming the other camp should such a closure arise. Threat to fire workers&nbsp;But with barely 36 hours to go before the deadline, each side is digging in its heels and the threat of a shutdown has swelled. The White House is upping the ante by threatening to fire large numbers of civil service workers, rather than the usual practice of simply holding up their pay until a deal is reached. Republicans have proposed to extend current funding until late November, pending negotiations on a longer-term spending plan. But Democrats, largely powerless and reeling from Trump&#39;s dismantling of entire government departments, are seeking to make use of their rare leverage. Healthcare demand&nbsp;Republicans hold narrow majorities in both chambers of Congress, but Senate rules require budget bills to receive 60 votes out of 100 to proceed -- meaning they must sway at least seven Democrats. Democrats want to see hundreds of billions of dollars in healthcare spending restored, particularly in the Obamacare health insurance program for low-income households which the Trump administration plans to eliminate through its so-called &quot;Big, Beautiful&quot; budget bill passed in July. They also want to block Trump and Republicans from later cutting approved funds through the so-called &quot;recissions&quot; process -- which requires only a simple majority to pass -- as they did this summer. &lsquo;The decision maker&rsquo;&nbsp;&quot;Ultimately he&#39;s the decision maker,&quot; Schumer said of Trump. &quot;And if he will accept some of the things we asked -- which we think the American people are for, on health care and on rescissions -- he can avoid a shutdown, but there are still large differences between us.&quot; The House has already passed a short-term funding extension, and Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has sought to force Senate Democrats&#39; hands by not bringing his chamber back to Washington this week. Johnson, speaking alongside Vance and Senate Republican leader John Thune, accused Democrats on Monday of &quot;trying to bring in extraneous issues&quot; instead of accepting his chamber&#39;s &quot;clean&quot; proposal to extend funding. &quot;If the Democrats make the decision to shut the government down, the consequences are on them, and I think it&#39;s absolutely tragic,&quot; he said. Gridlocked CongressThe gridlocked Congress regularly runs into deadlines to agree on spending plans. In March, with the threat of a shutdown already looming, Republicans refused to engage in dialogue with Democrats over massive budget cuts and the layoff of thousands of federal employees. That time, 10 Senate Democrats, including Schumer, reluctantly voted for that Republican stop-gap measure to avoid a shutdown. But their decision angered the party base, which is calling on Democratic leaders to stand up to Trump.

With 36 hours until a government shutdown, a White House meeting between Trump and congressional leaders ended without agreement. Both parties blamed each other, with healthcare funding and spending cuts at the center.

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