President Joe Biden plans to meet with the top four congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday after weekend negotiations on the first batch of spending bills due Friday to avert a partial government shutdown appeared to stall out.
Each side blamed the other Sunday night for the lack of progress on the four appropriations bills that have a March 1 deadline — Agriculture, Energy-Water, Military Construction-VA and Transportation-HUD. Those bills represent around 20 percent of federal agencies’ fiscal 2024 discretionary funds, and while a short shutdown wouldn’t be debilitating, some key activities would cease, like loans to farmers and hiring and training new air traffic controllers.
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote to colleagues that he had hoped to announce a deal on Sunday night, but that Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans have been unwilling to compromise.
