President Joe Biden was meeting Tuesday with the top four leaders of Congress to press them to act quickly to avoid a looming government shutdown early next month and to pass emergency aid for Ukraine and Israel. Biden was hosting House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Vice President Kamala Harris also was attending.
Quick Read
- Meeting on Government Shutdown and Aid: President Joe Biden convened a meeting with the top four Congressional leaders to urge swift action to prevent a potential government shutdown and to pass emergency aid for Ukraine and Israel.
- Attendees: The meeting included House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, with Vice President Kamala Harris also present.
- Focus on National Security: White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre emphasized Biden’s priority on national security interests, including ongoing government funding, to avoid using these critical issues as “political football.”
- Bipartisan Calls to Avoid Shutdown: Both Schumer and McConnell publicly stressed the importance of keeping the government operational to avoid the negative consequences of a shutdown.
- Deadline Approaching: Without a spending agreement, parts of the government may begin to scale back operations by Friday, with a more extensive deadline for broader government funding set for March 8.
- House’s Role in Aid Package: The House, led by Speaker Johnson, faces pressure to approve a $95 billion national security aid package for Ukraine, Israel, and the Indo-Pacific region, already passed by the Senate, but Johnson has hesitated to bring it to a vote.
- Funding Expirations: Government funding for various sectors, including agriculture, transportation, and military construction, is set to expire soon, with the most immediate deadline this Friday.
The Associated Press has the story:
Biden to urge Congress’ top leaders to keep Govt open, send aid to Ukraine & Israel
Newslooks- WASHINGTON (AP) —
President Joe Biden was meeting Tuesday with the top four leaders of Congress to press them to act quickly to avoid a looming government shutdown early next month and to pass emergency aid for Ukraine and Israel.
Biden was hosting House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. Vice President Kamala Harris also was attending.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden invited the leaders to the Oval Office meeting because he wants to make sure U.S. national security interests are “put first.” She said those interests include continuing to fund the government.
“Look, what the president wants to see is we want to make sure that the national security interests of the American people gets put first, right?” she said Monday as Biden flew to New York. “It is not used as a political football, right? We want to make sure that gets done.
“And we also want to see that, you know, that the government does not get shut down,” Jean-Pierre said, adding that keeping the government open and functioning is a “basic, basic priority” of Congress.
The Senate’s top two leaders also urged that the government be kept open.
Parts of the government could start to scale back operations as early as Friday unless a deal is reached on spending and legislation is sent to Biden for his signature.
“We want to avoid a government shutdown,” Schumer said Monday on the Senate floor. “We want to work with all our House counterparts to spare the American people the pain that a shutdown would bring.”
“Shutting down the government is harmful to the country,” he said Monday in a separate floor speech. “And it never produces positive outcomes on policy or politics.”
The House, under Johnson’s leadership, is under pressure to pass the $95 billion national security package that bolsters aid for Ukraine, Israel and the Indo-Pacific. That measure cleared the Senate on a bipartisan 70-29 vote this month, but Johnson has resisted scheduling it for a vote in the House.
Apart from the national security package, government funding for agriculture, transportation, military construction and some veterans’ services expires Friday. Funding for the rest of the government, including the Pentagon, the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department, expires a week later, on March 8.
