WASHINGTON -- White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said Wednesday that he "can't guarantee" lawmakers will be able to reach a deal to avert a mid-December shutdown of the federal government.
Congress and the White House have until Dec. 11 to approve new spending legislation to prevent the federal government from shutting down in the middle of a pandemic and amid a projected surge in coronavirus cases. Meadows said he was hopeful an agreement would be reached but didn't rule out that an impasse would occur.
There have been two government shutdowns during Trump's four years in office, one of which lasted more than a month.
Lawmakers began negotiations this week on spending legislation that would fund the government and avert the shutdown, but key sticking points remain over international aid policy, public health spending, and tribal health care, among other policy disagreements, according to Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., vice chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
If appropriators cannot reach an agreement on legislation to fund federal agencies, Congress could approve a "continuing resolution" that would lock in existing spending levels with no change to existing policy.
Meadows met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., in the Capitol on Wednesday. While not ruling out the possibility of a shutdown, Meadows said: "I can tell you it's a high priority to make sure we keep our government funded. ... Obviously, we want to keep the government funded."
The spending talks come at a time when the partisan divide on Capitol Hill is widening. Trump refuses to concede the outcome of the Nov. 3 election.
Economists who have clamored for additional stimulus legislation warn that a federal shutdown could further imperil the national recovery.
Congress also faces the looming expiration of numerous economic protections by the end of the year, including benefits for millions of jobless Americans, and protections for renters and student borrowers.
Negotiations over a stimulus package have faltered, with no discussions currently occurring between House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and McConnell, according to congressional aides. Pelosi and Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., sent a letter Tuesday to McConnell asking for the resumption of negotiations.
Appropriators are working to set the overall spending levels for 12 different funding bills for federal agencies, according to Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Then, lawmakers will have to reach bipartisan agreement on the policy substance of those 12 underlying bills and try to pass them before Dec. 11.
"We're still negotiating them. We're getting close on all of it. We're not there yet," Shelby told reporters, according to a pool report. "We're working at it."