A shutdown of the U.S. government is looking all but inevitable and there's growing concern the Trump administration is poised to use it as an opportunity to launch mass firings of federal employees.

It's now less than 48 hours until the 11:59 p.m. Tuesday deadline for Congress to approve a spending resolution before a new fiscal year begins and the government's discretionary spending tap is turned off.

News emerged over the weekend that the U.S. president will meet the Republican and Democratic congressional leaders on Monday afternoon, but both sides warned against interpreting that as a sign of an imminent deal.

While impasses threatening a shutdown have become so routine in the U.S. that you might be tempted to yawn, Donald Trump's recent unprecedented flexing of presidential powers

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