FILE PHOTO: A view shows the dome of the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 3, 2025. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo

By Richard Cowan, David Morgan and Bo Erickson

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Ahead of a high-stakes White House meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump, Democrats floated a possible compromise on Monday in an effort to head off a government shutdown that could disrupt a wide range of services as soon as Wednesday.

According to Democratic sources who spoke on condition of anonymity, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and other lawmakers are weighing a plan that would extend government funding for seven to 10 days beyond a Tuesday midnight (0400 GMT Wednesday) deadline, buying time to hammer out a more permanent agreement. Other options are also on the table, the sources said.

It was unclear whether Trump and his fellow Republicans would support that idea in an afternoon White House meeting to discuss the impasse. The Democrats' plan would need approval in the Republican-led House of Representatives as well to avoid disruption.

Democrats say any agreement to extend government funding must also preserve expiring health benefits. Trump's Republicans insist health and government funding must be dealt with as separate issues.

Senate Republican Leader John Thune sought to pile pressure on Democrats by scheduling a Tuesday vote on a stopgap funding bill that would fund the government through November 21, longer than the Democrats' time frame, and would not address the health issue. Nearly all Democrats voted against that bill when it was brought up for a vote on September 19.

"It's up to the Democrats," the South Dakota Republican told reporters. He needs at least seven Democratic votes to pass funding legislation.

If Congress does not act, thousands of federal government workers could be furloughed, from NASA to the national parks, and a wide range of services would be disrupted. Federal courts might have to close and grants for small businesses could be delayed.

Budget standoffs have become relatively routine in Washington over the past 15 years and are often resolved at the last minute. But Trump's willingness to override or ignore spending laws passed by Congress has injected a new dimension of uncertainty.

Trump has refused to spend billions of dollars approved by Congress and is threatening to extend his purge of the federal workforce if Congress allows the government to shut down. Only a handful of agencies have so far published plans detailing how they would proceed in the event of a shutdown.

At issue is $1.7 trillion in "discretionary" spending that funds agency operations, which amounts to roughly one-quarter of the government's total $7 trillion budget. Much of the remainder goes to health and retirement programs and interest payments on the growing $37.5 trillion debt.

CHRONIC SHUTDOWNS

There have been 14 partial government shutdowns since 1981, most lasting just a few days. The most recent was also the longest, lasting 35 days in 2018 and 2019 due to a dispute over immigration during Trump's first term.

This time healthcare is at issue. Roughly 24 million Americans who get coverage through the Affordable Care Act will see their costs rise if Congress does not extend temporary tax breaks that are due to expire at the end of this year.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Congress needs to make those tax breaks permanent right now, because higher health insurance premiums are being finalized and the new signup period starts November 1.

"We believe that simply accepting the Republican plan to continue to assault and gut healthcare is unacceptable," Jeffries said at a Monday press conference.

Thune said Congress must first ensure funding does not lapse before it tackles other problems.

“Major decisions should not be made in haste," he wrote in a Washington Post opinion piece on Monday. "They certainly shouldn't be made because one party is threatening to shut down the government if it doesn't get its way."

Some Democratic aides have suggested their party could back a short-term funding bill if Republicans agreed to hold a vote on health care benefits. But Jeffries dismissed that idea last week, saying Republicans cannot be trusted.

Democrats want to energize their voting base ahead of the 2026 midterm elections, when control of Congress will be at stake, and have broadly lined up behind the healthcare push.

But Democratic aides have privately expressed concerns that a shutdown could create a public backlash if Democrats do not effectively argue their case and instead come off sounding as just being opposed to whatever Trump wants - a stance Republicans like Thune have derided as "Trump Derangement Syndrome."

(Reporting by Richard Cowan; additional reporting by David Morgan, Katharine Jackson and James Oliphant; writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone, Alistair Bell, David Gregorio and Deepa Babington)