CHAOS FEARS
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows ‘can’t guarantee’ government will not SHUT DOWN in December
FEARS of a government shutdown loom as White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said on Wednesday that he "can't guarantee" lawmakers will avoid a stalemate in December.
Congress and the Trump administration have just weeks to approve a dozen spending bills to prevent a federal government shutdown on December 11 amid the ongoing pandemic.
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Though he didn't completely rule out a shutdown, Meadows said and are trying to come to an agreement to fund government agencies and keep them open.
"Obviously we want to keep the government funded," Meadows told reporters in .
"It's a high priority to make sure we keep our government funded."
The negotiations between Congress and the Trump administration are ongoing as both parties remain fiercely at odds over funding for issues including public health and childcare.
Congress could also strike a deal on a "continuing resolution" that maintains existing federal agency funding for a short period of time.
But if neither outcome is reached, large swaths of the government will shut down.
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President presided over the longest shutdown in US history, which lasted 35 days in 2018.
He had demanded Congress to fund a border wall with .
Congress is still deadlocked on a second , something many economists say is necessary to support hard-hit Americans and businesses as the virus continues to spread.
Talks about a second federal rescue package have stalled, prompting House Speaker and Senate Minority Leader to call on Senate Majority Leader to revive the conversation.
President-elect on Monday passed by House Democrats in May.
"Right now Congress should come together and pass a Covid relief package like the that the House passed six months ago," he said in Wilmington, .
"Once we shut down the virus and deliver economic relief to workers and businesses, then we can start to build back better than before."
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But on Wednesday, claiming that the act gives "rich people in blue states" bigger tax cuts.
"House Democrats’ so-called 'HEROES Act' is so unserious that it was condemned by the Speaker's own moderate Democrats the instant she put it out," he tweeted."
"Huge tax cuts for rich people in blue states, but no second round of the Paycheck Protection Program? Those are their priorities?"
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