Trump to meet Congress leaders to avert shutdown

The top four Congressional leaders will meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday, a day before federal funding would expire if the two parties can’t agree on a short-term spending bill.The talks will be the first between Trump and Congressional leaders ahead of the deadline to avoid a shutdown. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer and his House counterpart, Hakeem Jeffries, were expected to meet with the president last week but it was cancelled by the White House at the last minute. Now they are meeting Monday at White House with the president as well as Senate Republican leaders, including majority leader John Thune.The bill at issue would only fund govt until mid-Nov and must pass before Oct. 1. Democrats are insisting it must include an extension of health-care subsidies and a restoration of budget cuts to health care implemented by Trump’s signature legislation that passed earlier this year. Republicans say talks for those issues can happen after averting a shutdown. Republicans will need at least seven Democrats to back the short-term bill in Senate, which has already passed the House. Trump has threatened firings of federal workers if govt shuts down.