Vance: US Heading Toward Govt Shutdown After Lawmaker Meeting

Vice President JD Vance after a White House meeting with congressional leadership on Monday said he thought the U.S. government would shutdown due to lack of agreement between Republicans and Democrats.

"I think we're headed to a shutdown because the Democrats won't do the right thing. I hope they change their mind, but we're going to see," Vance told reporters outside of the White House.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters that Democratic lawmakers laid out healthcare issues to President Donald Trump in the meeting.

At the heart of the divide is how Congress should fund the government in the short term and under what conditions. Republicans are pushing for what they call a “clean” continuing resolution — essentially extending current funding levels without attaching new policy changes. They argue that major policy fights (healthcare, taxes, social programs) should be handled separately.

Democrats, by contrast, are demanding that any stopgap funding include extensions of Affordable Care Act subsidies, protections against Medicaid cuts, and other healthcare provisions, according to Time.

Beneath that central conflict are deeper fault lines: Republicans want tight fiscal discipline, often insisting on spending cuts or rollback of programs, while Democrats view many of those cuts as harmful to vulnerable populations. Also at stake is political leverage — Democrats see the looming deadline as their best shot to extract concessions, while Republicans fear that giving in sets a precedent that funding must always be tied to policy favors, as reported by The Washington Post.

Newsmax wires contributed to this report.