Trump Raises Possibility of Shutdown This Weekend

It's an unusually busy time on Capitol Hill. GOP lawmakers are trying to get a tax bill to President Trump before the end of the year, but first they must contend with a Friday deadline to avert a government shutdown. On Wednesday, President Trump raised the possibility that the shutdown will indeed take effect on Saturday, reports the Hill. "It could happen," he told reporters at the White House, blaming Democrats for an impasse over immigration. "The Democrats are really looking at something that is very dangerous to our country. They are looking at shutting down." Trump was referring to Democratic demands that any stopgap legislation also address the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals issue, referring to young, undocumented immigrants at risk of deportation.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, however, downplayed the risk of a shutdown, per the AP. Pelosi said Trump is the "only person talking about a government shutdown." She and Sen. Charles Schumer meet with the president and top congressional Republicans on Thursday. Previously, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stated categorically that no shutdown would take place. House conservatives in the Freedom Caucus, meanwhile, were raising their own fiscal demands in regard to the shutdown, notes Politico. House Speaker Paul Ryan met with them Wednesday, though no deal was reached. (More tax reform stories.)