President Biden tried to break through a deadlock on Capitol Hill over keeping the government running and providing aid for Ukraine and Israel as he convened the top four leaders of Congress at the White House on Tuesday.
“We got a lot of work to do,” Mr. Biden said before the closed-door meeting in the Oval Office. He added: “A shutdown would damage the economy significantly.”
On his way to the White House, House Speaker Mike Johnson was asked whether there would be a partial government shutdown. “No, we’re going to work to prevent that,” he said.
The meeting was being attended by Mr. Johnson, Republican of Louisiana; Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the minority leader; Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader; Representative Hakeem Jeffries, Democrat of New York and the minority leader; and Vice President Kamala Harris.
Lawmakers are running out of time to strike a deal to avert another partial government shutdown. The first batch of funding will run out on Friday at midnight, while funding for some agencies, including the Defense Department, will expire on March 8.
“A basic, basic priority or duty of Congress is to keep the government open,” Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said on Monday. “So, that’s what the president wants to see. He’ll have those conversations.”
