President Donald Trump’s abrupt decision to cancel a planned meeting with top Democratic leaders is only the latest twist in a funding standoff that threatens to trigger a partial government shutdown next week.

As Republicans push for a “clean,” seven-week funding extension to avoid a shutdown, Democrats are determined to use their leverage on that bill by demanding a fix for expiring health insurance subsidies that could swell the ranks of the uninsured.

And with neither side willing to blink so far, the tit-for-tat verbal jousting playing out on social media may be inching the country closer to a shutdown that neither party claims to want.

Less than 24 hours after agreeing to sit down with Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-

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