Congressional Republicans and Democrats left a meeting at the White House with President Donald Trump with no clear path forward to avert a partial government shutdown. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Democrats, however, have pushed back on assertions that they’re looking to salvage healthcare for anyone but the American people.
"There was a frank and direct discussion with the President of the United States and Republican leaders. But significant and meaningful differences remain," Jeffries said. "Democrats are fighting to protect the health care of the American people, and we are not going to support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of every day America, period."
Congress has until midnight Oct. 1 to pass a short-term funding extension, or continuing resolution (CR), to avert a partial government shutdown. The House already passed a funding extension, but the bill was blocked in the Senate earlier this month.
Republicans and the White House want to move forward with their "clean," short-term funding extension until Nov. 21, while Democrats have offered a counter-proposal that includes a permanent extension of expiring Obamacare tax credits and other wishlist items that are a bridge too far for the GOP.
Vance appeared alongside Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought in a show of Republican unity after the meeting, but made clear both sides are still far apart.
Thune, holding up a copy of the funding extension, panned Jeffries and Schumer’s accusation that the bill was partisan in nature.
Congressional Republicans argue that the House GOP’s is everything that Democrats pushed when they controlled the Senate: a "clean," short-term extension to Nov. 21 without partisan policy riders or spending, save for millions in new spending for increased security for lawmakers.
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President Donald Trump speaks at a hearing of the Religious Liberty Commission at the Museum of the Bible, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
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Democrats’ demands center on an extension to expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, though their counter-proposal also included language to repeal the healthcare section of the GOP’s "big, beautiful bill" and a clawback of canceled NPR and PBS funding.
Senate Republicans have argued that Democrats’ desires are unserious, and Thune has publicly said that Republicans would be willing to have discussions on the ACA subsidies, which are set to sunset at the end of this year, after the government is funded.
The White House is also leveraging the threat of mass firings should the government shut down that go beyond the standard furloughing of nonessential employees. Still, Schumer and Senate Democrats have not buckled.
The Senate is expected to vote again on the bill on Tuesday.
Elizabeth Elkind is a politics reporter for Fox News Digital leading coverage of the House of Representatives. Previous digital bylines seen at Daily Mail and CBS News.
Follow on Twitter at @liz_elkind and send tips to elizabeth.elkind@fox.com
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/jd-vance-government-likely-headed-shutdown