U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) holds a press conference ing a vote in the U.S.
Senate on a stopgap spending bill to avert a partial government shutdown that would otherwise begin on October 1, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. U.S., Sept. 19, 2025.
Annabelle Gordon | Reuteenate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday urged President Donald Trump to meet with Democrats to strike a deal to avoid a government shutdown as the funding deadline looms."I hope and pray that Trump will sit down with us and negotiate a bipartisan bill," Schumer said on CNN's "State of the Union," days before federal funding is set to expire on Sept.
30.Schumer's push comes after the Senate last week rejected both Republican and Democratic posals to keep the government funded at least temporarily, raising the lihood of a shutdown.Read more CNBC coverageTrump says Murdochs are potential TikTok deal partnersThe U.S.
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"We hope it doesn't come to that," he said.Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, also of New York, on Saturday sent a letter to Trump urging him to meet with Democrats "to reach an agreement to keep the government open."Trump said late Saturday that he would "love" to meet with Democrats in Congress, but added he did not think "it's going to have any impact."Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., for his part, insists that the upper chamber can pass legislation to avert a shutdown — without concessions."All it takes is a handful of Democrats to join the Republicans in keeping the government open and funded, and to ensure we have a chance to get the appriations cess in the way it was int," Thune said last week, according to the Associated Press.Any legislation will need 60 votes to pass, and with Republicans' razor-thin majority, some Democrats would need to vote with Republicans to that threshold.Both chambers are scheduled to be on recess this week, putting further pressure on lawmakers to strike a deal on a tight timeline.