A key Senate vote to avoid a government shutdown failed Friday night, as the shutdown deadline passed without a deal in place.

Congressional leaders are continuing to debate a deal on the Senate floor.

Sixty votes were needed to advance the bill. Republicans only control 51 seats, so GOP leaders needed Democratic votes to cross that threshold. As of 11 p.m. ET, the vote was still technically ongoing but enough senators had voted against the plan to prevent it from advancing.

While the vote has been left open, congressional leaders -- including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer -- are working to come up with a deal on the floor of the chamber. A senior GOP source says at this point, there is not enough time or space for a last minute deal. The source says the talks on the floor are, indeed, real and "potentially productive" but the gap is too big to bridge right now.

One of the key issues in the final moments before the shutdown has been just how long to extend funding. The House passed a measure Thursday night to continue funding the government through February 16, and that measure is the one that appeared on track to fail in the Senate. Democrats have pushed for a shorter-term continuing resolution of a couple days. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who said he would not vote for the House proposal, pushed a plan to keep the government open until February 8.

Two sources say Democrats have pitched a new continuing resolution that would expire on January 29, the day before President Donald Trump's State of the Union address. Republicans are not willing to consider that, one source says, but conversations are still ongoing.

Two GOP sources say that Graham's three-week compromise idea wasn't by accident -- it is the off-ramp on the table, if Democrats are willing to take it.

"It's a live option," one of the sources said -- one Democrats have been told is an acceptable change for Republicans. The big question, the sources said, is whether it goes nearly far enough for Democrats who've listed a litany if reasons for their opposition.

Searching for a deal in the Senate

On Friday afternoon, McConnell got a second and third Senate Democrat -- Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana and later Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota -- to say that they would vote to keep the government open until February 16. However, since at least two Republicans have said they'll vote against the measure, the Kentucky Republican still might need as many as dozen more members of the opposing party in order to pass the plan.

Trump showed his support for the House plan just hours before that vote was scheduled.

"Excellent preliminary meeting in Oval with @SenSchumer - working on solutions for Security and our great Military together with @SenateMajLdr McConnell and @SpeakerRyan. Making progress - four week extension would be best!" Trump tweeted Friday evening, a reference to the Republican-backed plan of funding government for the next four weeks as opposed to just a couple of days, as pitched by Democratic leaders.

White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" that as efforts continue to reach an agreement, "we're in a weekend so we have a little more flexibility here."

On Friday evening, Trump also spoke by phone to House Speaker Paul Ryan, according to a source familiar.

Not speaking to each other: McConnell and Schumer. Three sources told CNN that the two leaders in the Senate had not spoken to each other on Friday as of 5 p.m. ET and have no conversations scheduled.

Rep. John Yarmuth, a Kentucky Democrat, told reporters that the House Democratic leadership team concluded at their meeting Friday night there would be a government shutdown and the group expected it to last through early next week.

"I think it is almost 100% likely that the government will shut down for some period of time -- now my guess is it won't go past the first of the week -- in which the disruption won't be particularly severe," said Yarmuth, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee.

Pelosi gave a very brief overview to the leadership team of what Schumer told her about his meeting with the President. According to Yarmuth, Schumer laid out what his priorities are and the President said he wanted the Senate to pass the House bill. Asked why the meeting lasted so long, he quipped, "Well, Trump repeats himself, that's what I understand."

Yarmuth expected the House, which was scheduled to be out of session next week, would likely come back just for a day to approve some type of stopgap bill.

"There are all sorts of things being discussed apparently, from one day to three days, to five days, to three weeks to four weeks. Four weeks being the president's position." He said Democrats would be fine with backing some type of short term continuing resolution.

Some Democratic aides for progressive members have been worried that Schumer would cut a deal and give away leverage on some of their priorities, but Yarmuth insisted that the House and Senate Democrats are "in 100% agreement on this and totally working hand in hand."

Earlier Friday, Trump called Schumer and invited the New York Democrat personally, a person familiar with the plans told CNN.

Trump's chief of staff John Kelly was the only White House official present at the meeting, a person familiar told CNN.

McConnell was not at the meeting, a source said, adding that he and Trump have been in touch during the day by telephone. Neither was Ryan, who was addressing the "March for Life" rally around the same time. McConnell and Ryan were aware that the White House was going to invite Schumer to the White House, one Republican source said.

"We had a long and detailed meeting," Schumer told reporters in brief remarks he made upon returning the Capitol, but he did not include any specifics from their discussion. "We made good progress and will continue."

Schumer then met with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin in his office.

"I think the leader made a statement that progress had been made but much more needs to be done," Pelosi told CNN upon leaving Schumer's office.

"It's in the hands of the leader," Durbin told CNN.

White House aides made clear to GOP staff this morning there was no daylight between the President and Hill Republicans this morning, especially on immigration, according to two sources.

Still, some congressional leaders eyed the Schumer meeting warily.

When asked by CNN if he was worried about Trump meeting with only Schumer, Sen. John Cornyn responded, "The thought did cross my mind."

"I don't think there is" going to be a shutdown, Cornyn said, but added, "I can't tell you exactly what the path forward is right now."

The mood on Capitol Hill: Both sides talking past each other

A Democratic senator told CNN a realization set in at the Senate gym Friday morning that Republicans and Democrats were just talking past each other and making incorrect assumptions about how to address each others' issues and demands seriously upping the odds of a shutdown.

Several GOP senators, for example, were trying to find out from Democrats why they are dug in against the House's short-term spending mechanism. Why won't they believe that Republicans will deal with DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, later? The program expires March 5, but Republicans' message to their colleagues was "come on, you know we won't deport DACA recipients."

Democrats, however, feel trust has eroded after immigration negotiations broke down last week when Trump went from saying he'd accept a bipartisan solution on DACA in one meeting and then two days later rejecting a bill authored by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican, and Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin. In that same meeting Trump used vulgar language to describe the African countries where some immigrants come from.

Adding to the angst was the fact that Graham and Durbin thought they were gaining momentum on their bill this week and were winning over more Republicans only to hear that GOP leaders had convinced several of those Republicans to peel back off. Graham and Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona who also worked on the bipartisan bill, have said they will not support the House-passed CR.

At this point, Senate Republicans are hoping to get more guidance from Trump and the White House about how to proceed. However, a bipartisan group of senators -- members who know and have long-standing relationships with one another-- have yet to sit down and try to hammer out a compromise.

House members had been scheduled to be on recess next week, but many said they weren't going home until they knew there was resolution.

"I'm not going home if the government shuts down," said Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson.

Rep. Austin Scott, a Republican from Georgia, told CNN that he was also prepared to stay, although he added "Mitch McConnell needs to stand and fight."</s>A key Senate vote to avoid a government shutdown failed Friday night, as the shutdown deadline passed without a deal in place.

Congressional leaders are continuing to debate a deal on the Senate floor.

Sixty votes were needed to advance the bill. Republicans only control 51 seats, so GOP leaders needed Democratic votes to cross that threshold. As of 11 p.m. ET, the vote was still technically ongoing but enough senators had voted against the plan to prevent it from advancing.

While the vote has been left open, congressional leaders -- including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer -- are working to come up with a deal on the floor of the chamber. A senior GOP source says at this point, there is not enough time or space for a last minute deal. The source says the talks on the floor are, indeed, real and "potentially productive" but the gap is too big to bridge right now.

One of the key issues in the final moments before the shutdown has been just how long to extend funding. The House passed a measure Thursday night to continue funding the government through February 16, and that measure is the one that appeared on track to fail in the Senate. Democrats have pushed for a shorter-term continuing resolution of a couple days. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who said he would not vote for the House proposal, pushed a plan to keep the government open until February 8.

Two sources say Democrats have pitched a new continuing resolution that would expire on January 29, the day before President Donald Trump's State of the Union address. Republicans are not willing to consider that, one source says, but conversations are still ongoing.

Two GOP sources say that Graham's three-week compromise idea wasn't by accident -- it is the off-ramp on the table, if Democrats are willing to take it.

"It's a live option," one of the sources said -- one Democrats have been told is an acceptable change for Republicans. The big question, the sources said, is whether it goes nearly far enough for Democrats who've listed a litany if reasons for their opposition.

Searching for a deal in the Senate

On Friday afternoon, McConnell got a second and third Senate Democrat -- Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana and later Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota -- to say that they would vote to keep the government open until February 16. However, since at least two Republicans have said they'll vote against the measure, the Kentucky Republican still might need as many as dozen more members of the opposing party in order to pass the plan.

Trump showed his support for the House plan just hours before that vote was scheduled.

"Excellent preliminary meeting in Oval with @SenSchumer - working on solutions for Security and our great Military together with @SenateMajLdr McConnell and @SpeakerRyan. Making progress - four week extension would be best!" Trump tweeted Friday evening, a reference to the Republican-backed plan of funding government for the next four weeks as opposed to just a couple of days, as pitched by Democratic leaders.

White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" that as efforts continue to reach an agreement, "we're in a weekend so we have a little more flexibility here."

On Friday evening, Trump also spoke by phone to House Speaker Paul Ryan, according to a source familiar.

Not speaking to each other: McConnell and Schumer. Three sources told CNN that the two leaders in the Senate had not spoken to each other on Friday as of 5 p.m. ET and have no conversations scheduled.

Rep. John Yarmuth, a Kentucky Democrat, told reporters that the House Democratic leadership team concluded at their meeting Friday night there would be a government shutdown and the group expected it to last through early next week.

"I think it is almost 100% likely that the government will shut down for some period of time -- now my guess is it won't go past the first of the week -- in which the disruption won't be particularly severe," said Yarmuth, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee.

Pelosi gave a very brief overview to the leadership team of what Schumer told her about his meeting with the President. According to Yarmuth, Schumer laid out what his priorities are and the President said he wanted the Senate to pass the House bill. Asked why the meeting lasted so long, he quipped, "Well, Trump repeats himself, that's what I understand."

Yarmuth expected the House, which was scheduled to be out of session next week, would likely come back just for a day to approve some type of stopgap bill.

"There are all sorts of things being discussed apparently, from one day to three days, to five days, to three weeks to four weeks. Four weeks being the president's position." He said Democrats would be fine with backing some type of short term continuing resolution.

Some Democratic aides for progressive members have been worried that Schumer would cut a deal and give away leverage on some of their priorities, but Yarmuth insisted that the House and Senate Democrats are "in 100% agreement on this and totally working hand in hand."

Earlier Friday, Trump called Schumer and invited the New York Democrat personally, a person familiar with the plans told CNN.

Trump's chief of staff John Kelly was the only White House official present at the meeting, a person familiar told CNN.

McConnell was not at the meeting, a source said, adding that he and Trump have been in touch during the day by telephone. Neither was Ryan, who was addressing the "March for Life" rally around the same time. McConnell and Ryan were aware that the White House was going to invite Schumer to the White House, one Republican source said.

"We had a long and detailed meeting," Schumer told reporters in brief remarks he made upon returning the Capitol, but he did not include any specifics from their discussion. "We made good progress and will continue."

Schumer then met with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin in his office.

"I think the leader made a statement that progress had been made but much more needs to be done," Pelosi told CNN upon leaving Schumer's office.

"It's in the hands of the leader," Durbin told CNN.

White House aides made clear to GOP staff this morning there was no daylight between the President and Hill Republicans this morning, especially on immigration, according to two sources.

Still, some congressional leaders eyed the Schumer meeting warily.

When asked by CNN if he was worried about Trump meeting with only Schumer, Sen. John Cornyn responded, "The thought did cross my mind."

"I don't think there is" going to be a shutdown, Cornyn said, but added, "I can't tell you exactly what the path forward is right now."

The mood on Capitol Hill: Both sides talking past each other

A Democratic senator told CNN a realization set in at the Senate gym Friday morning that Republicans and Democrats were just talking past each other and making incorrect assumptions about how to address each others' issues and demands seriously upping the odds of a shutdown.

Several GOP senators, for example, were trying to find out from Democrats why they are dug in against the House's short-term spending mechanism. Why won't they believe that Republicans will deal with DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, later? The program expires March 5, but Republicans' message to their colleagues was "come on, you know we won't deport DACA recipients."

Democrats, however, feel trust has eroded after immigration negotiations broke down last week when Trump went from saying he'd accept a bipartisan solution on DACA in one meeting and then two days later rejecting a bill authored by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican, and Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin. In that same meeting Trump used vulgar language to describe the African countries where some immigrants come from.

Adding to the angst was the fact that Graham and Durbin thought they were gaining momentum on their bill this week and were winning over more Republicans only to hear that GOP leaders had convinced several of those Republicans to peel back off. Graham and Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona who also worked on the bipartisan bill, have said they will not support the House-passed CR.

At this point, Senate Republicans are hoping to get more guidance from Trump and the White House about how to proceed. However, a bipartisan group of senators -- members who know and have long-standing relationships with one another-- have yet to sit down and try to hammer out a compromise.

House members had been scheduled to be on recess next week, but many said they weren't going home until they knew there was resolution.

"I'm not going home if the government shuts down," said Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson.

Rep. Austin Scott, a Republican from Georgia, told CNN that he was also prepared to stay, although he added "Mitch McConnell needs to stand and fight."</s>A key Senate vote to avoid a government shutdown failed Friday night, as the shutdown deadline passed without a deal in place.

Congressional leaders are continuing to debate a deal on the Senate floor.

Sixty votes were needed to advance the bill. Republicans only control 51 seats, so GOP leaders needed Democratic votes to cross that threshold. As of 11 p.m. ET, the vote was still technically ongoing but enough senators had voted against the plan to prevent it from advancing.

While the vote has been left open, congressional leaders -- including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer -- are working to come up with a deal on the floor of the chamber. A senior GOP source says at this point, there is not enough time or space for a last minute deal. The source says the talks on the floor are, indeed, real and "potentially productive" but the gap is too big to bridge right now.

One of the key issues in the final moments before the shutdown has been just how long to extend funding. The House passed a measure Thursday night to continue funding the government through February 16, and that measure is the one that appeared on track to fail in the Senate. Democrats have pushed for a shorter-term continuing resolution of a couple days. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who said he would not vote for the House proposal, pushed a plan to keep the government open until February 8.

Two sources say Democrats have pitched a new continuing resolution that would expire on January 29, the day before President Donald Trump's State of the Union address. Republicans are not willing to consider that, one source says, but conversations are still ongoing.

Two GOP sources say that Graham's three-week compromise idea wasn't by accident -- it is the off-ramp on the table, if Democrats are willing to take it.

"It's a live option," one of the sources said -- one Democrats have been told is an acceptable change for Republicans. The big question, the sources said, is whether it goes nearly far enough for Democrats who've listed a litany if reasons for their opposition.

Searching for a deal in the Senate

On Friday afternoon, McConnell got a second and third Senate Democrat -- Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana and later Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota -- to say that they would vote to keep the government open until February 16. However, since at least two Republicans have said they'll vote against the measure, the Kentucky Republican still might need as many as dozen more members of the opposing party in order to pass the plan.

Trump showed his support for the House plan just hours before that vote was scheduled.

"Excellent preliminary meeting in Oval with @SenSchumer - working on solutions for Security and our great Military together with @SenateMajLdr McConnell and @SpeakerRyan. Making progress - four week extension would be best!" Trump tweeted Friday evening, a reference to the Republican-backed plan of funding government for the next four weeks as opposed to just a couple of days, as pitched by Democratic leaders.

White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" that as efforts continue to reach an agreement, "we're in a weekend so we have a little more flexibility here."

On Friday evening, Trump also spoke by phone to House Speaker Paul Ryan, according to a source familiar.

Not speaking to each other: McConnell and Schumer. Three sources told CNN that the two leaders in the Senate had not spoken to each other on Friday as of 5 p.m. ET and have no conversations scheduled.

Rep. John Yarmuth, a Kentucky Democrat, told reporters that the House Democratic leadership team concluded at their meeting Friday night there would be a government shutdown and the group expected it to last through early next week.

"I think it is almost 100% likely that the government will shut down for some period of time -- now my guess is it won't go past the first of the week -- in which the disruption won't be particularly severe," said Yarmuth, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee.

Pelosi gave a very brief overview to the leadership team of what Schumer told her about his meeting with the President. According to Yarmuth, Schumer laid out what his priorities are and the President said he wanted the Senate to pass the House bill. Asked why the meeting lasted so long, he quipped, "Well, Trump repeats himself, that's what I understand."

Yarmuth expected the House, which was scheduled to be out of session next week, would likely come back just for a day to approve some type of stopgap bill.

"There are all sorts of things being discussed apparently, from one day to three days, to five days, to three weeks to four weeks. Four weeks being the president's position." He said Democrats would be fine with backing some type of short term continuing resolution.

Some Democratic aides for progressive members have been worried that Schumer would cut a deal and give away leverage on some of their priorities, but Yarmuth insisted that the House and Senate Democrats are "in 100% agreement on this and totally working hand in hand."

Earlier Friday, Trump called Schumer and invited the New York Democrat personally, a person familiar with the plans told CNN.

Trump's chief of staff John Kelly was the only White House official present at the meeting, a person familiar told CNN.

McConnell was not at the meeting, a source said, adding that he and Trump have been in touch during the day by telephone. Neither was Ryan, who was addressing the "March for Life" rally around the same time. McConnell and Ryan were aware that the White House was going to invite Schumer to the White House, one Republican source said.

"We had a long and detailed meeting," Schumer told reporters in brief remarks he made upon returning the Capitol, but he did not include any specifics from their discussion. "We made good progress and will continue."

Schumer then met with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin in his office.

"I think the leader made a statement that progress had been made but much more needs to be done," Pelosi told CNN upon leaving Schumer's office.

"It's in the hands of the leader," Durbin told CNN.

White House aides made clear to GOP staff this morning there was no daylight between the President and Hill Republicans this morning, especially on immigration, according to two sources.

Still, some congressional leaders eyed the Schumer meeting warily.

When asked by CNN if he was worried about Trump meeting with only Schumer, Sen. John Cornyn responded, "The thought did cross my mind."

"I don't think there is" going to be a shutdown, Cornyn said, but added, "I can't tell you exactly what the path forward is right now."

The mood on Capitol Hill: Both sides talking past each other

A Democratic senator told CNN a realization set in at the Senate gym Friday morning that Republicans and Democrats were just talking past each other and making incorrect assumptions about how to address each others' issues and demands seriously upping the odds of a shutdown.

Several GOP senators, for example, were trying to find out from Democrats why they are dug in against the House's short-term spending mechanism. Why won't they believe that Republicans will deal with DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, later? The program expires March 5, but Republicans' message to their colleagues was "come on, you know we won't deport DACA recipients."

Democrats, however, feel trust has eroded after immigration negotiations broke down last week when Trump went from saying he'd accept a bipartisan solution on DACA in one meeting and then two days later rejecting a bill authored by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican, and Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin. In that same meeting Trump used vulgar language to describe the African countries where some immigrants come from.

Adding to the angst was the fact that Graham and Durbin thought they were gaining momentum on their bill this week and were winning over more Republicans only to hear that GOP leaders had convinced several of those Republicans to peel back off. Graham and Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona who also worked on the bipartisan bill, have said they will not support the House-passed CR.

At this point, Senate Republicans are hoping to get more guidance from Trump and the White House about how to proceed. However, a bipartisan group of senators -- members who know and have long-standing relationships with one another-- have yet to sit down and try to hammer out a compromise.

House members had been scheduled to be on recess next week, but many said they weren't going home until they knew there was resolution.

"I'm not going home if the government shuts down," said Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson.

Rep. Austin Scott, a Republican from Georgia, told CNN that he was also prepared to stay, although he added "Mitch McConnell needs to stand and fight."</s>A key Senate vote to avoid a government shutdown failed Friday night, as the shutdown deadline passed without a deal in place.

Congressional leaders are continuing to debate a deal on the Senate floor.

Sixty votes were needed to advance the bill. Republicans only control 51 seats, so GOP leaders needed Democratic votes to cross that threshold. As of 11 p.m. ET, the vote was still technically ongoing but enough senators had voted against the plan to prevent it from advancing.

While the vote has been left open, congressional leaders -- including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer -- are working to come up with a deal on the floor of the chamber. A senior GOP source says at this point, there is not enough time or space for a last minute deal. The source says the talks on the floor are, indeed, real and "potentially productive" but the gap is too big to bridge right now.

One of the key issues in the final moments before the shutdown has been just how long to extend funding. The House passed a measure Thursday night to continue funding the government through February 16, and that measure is the one that appeared on track to fail in the Senate. Democrats have pushed for a shorter-term continuing resolution of a couple days. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who said he would not vote for the House proposal, pushed a plan to keep the government open until February 8.

Two sources say Democrats have pitched a new continuing resolution that would expire on January 29, the day before President Donald Trump's State of the Union address. Republicans are not willing to consider that, one source says, but conversations are still ongoing.

Two GOP sources say that Graham's three-week compromise idea wasn't by accident -- it is the off-ramp on the table, if Democrats are willing to take it.

"It's a live option," one of the sources said -- one Democrats have been told is an acceptable change for Republicans. The big question, the sources said, is whether it goes nearly far enough for Democrats who've listed a litany if reasons for their opposition.

Searching for a deal in the Senate

On Friday afternoon, McConnell got a second and third Senate Democrat -- Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana and later Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota -- to say that they would vote to keep the government open until February 16. However, since at least two Republicans have said they'll vote against the measure, the Kentucky Republican still might need as many as dozen more members of the opposing party in order to pass the plan.

Trump showed his support for the House plan just hours before that vote was scheduled.

"Excellent preliminary meeting in Oval with @SenSchumer - working on solutions for Security and our great Military together with @SenateMajLdr McConnell and @SpeakerRyan. Making progress - four week extension would be best!" Trump tweeted Friday evening, a reference to the Republican-backed plan of funding government for the next four weeks as opposed to just a couple of days, as pitched by Democratic leaders.

White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" that as efforts continue to reach an agreement, "we're in a weekend so we have a little more flexibility here."

On Friday evening, Trump also spoke by phone to House Speaker Paul Ryan, according to a source familiar.

Not speaking to each other: McConnell and Schumer. Three sources told CNN that the two leaders in the Senate had not spoken to each other on Friday as of 5 p.m. ET and have no conversations scheduled.

Rep. John Yarmuth, a Kentucky Democrat, told reporters that the House Democratic leadership team concluded at their meeting Friday night there would be a government shutdown and the group expected it to last through early next week.

"I think it is almost 100% likely that the government will shut down for some period of time -- now my guess is it won't go past the first of the week -- in which the disruption won't be particularly severe," said Yarmuth, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee.

Pelosi gave a very brief overview to the leadership team of what Schumer told her about his meeting with the President. According to Yarmuth, Schumer laid out what his priorities are and the President said he wanted the Senate to pass the House bill. Asked why the meeting lasted so long, he quipped, "Well, Trump repeats himself, that's what I understand."

Yarmuth expected the House, which was scheduled to be out of session next week, would likely come back just for a day to approve some type of stopgap bill.

"There are all sorts of things being discussed apparently, from one day to three days, to five days, to three weeks to four weeks. Four weeks being the president's position." He said Democrats would be fine with backing some type of short term continuing resolution.

Some Democratic aides for progressive members have been worried that Schumer would cut a deal and give away leverage on some of their priorities, but Yarmuth insisted that the House and Senate Democrats are "in 100% agreement on this and totally working hand in hand."

Earlier Friday, Trump called Schumer and invited the New York Democrat personally, a person familiar with the plans told CNN.

Trump's chief of staff John Kelly was the only White House official present at the meeting, a person familiar told CNN.

McConnell was not at the meeting, a source said, adding that he and Trump have been in touch during the day by telephone. Neither was Ryan, who was addressing the "March for Life" rally around the same time. McConnell and Ryan were aware that the White House was going to invite Schumer to the White House, one Republican source said.

"We had a long and detailed meeting," Schumer told reporters in brief remarks he made upon returning the Capitol, but he did not include any specifics from their discussion. "We made good progress and will continue."

Schumer then met with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin in his office.

"I think the leader made a statement that progress had been made but much more needs to be done," Pelosi told CNN upon leaving Schumer's office.

"It's in the hands of the leader," Durbin told CNN.

White House aides made clear to GOP staff this morning there was no daylight between the President and Hill Republicans this morning, especially on immigration, according to two sources.

Still, some congressional leaders eyed the Schumer meeting warily.

When asked by CNN if he was worried about Trump meeting with only Schumer, Sen. John Cornyn responded, "The thought did cross my mind."

"I don't think there is" going to be a shutdown, Cornyn said, but added, "I can't tell you exactly what the path forward is right now."

The mood on Capitol Hill: Both sides talking past each other

A Democratic senator told CNN a realization set in at the Senate gym Friday morning that Republicans and Democrats were just talking past each other and making incorrect assumptions about how to address each others' issues and demands seriously upping the odds of a shutdown.

Several GOP senators, for example, were trying to find out from Democrats why they are dug in against the House's short-term spending mechanism. Why won't they believe that Republicans will deal with DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, later? The program expires March 5, but Republicans' message to their colleagues was "come on, you know we won't deport DACA recipients."

Democrats, however, feel trust has eroded after immigration negotiations broke down last week when Trump went from saying he'd accept a bipartisan solution on DACA in one meeting and then two days later rejecting a bill authored by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican, and Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin. In that same meeting Trump used vulgar language to describe the African countries where some immigrants come from.

Adding to the angst was the fact that Graham and Durbin thought they were gaining momentum on their bill this week and were winning over more Republicans only to hear that GOP leaders had convinced several of those Republicans to peel back off. Graham and Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona who also worked on the bipartisan bill, have said they will not support the House-passed CR.

At this point, Senate Republicans are hoping to get more guidance from Trump and the White House about how to proceed. However, a bipartisan group of senators -- members who know and have long-standing relationships with one another-- have yet to sit down and try to hammer out a compromise.

House members had been scheduled to be on recess next week, but many said they weren't going home until they knew there was resolution.

"I'm not going home if the government shuts down," said Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson.

Rep. Austin Scott, a Republican from Georgia, told CNN that he was also prepared to stay, although he added "Mitch McConnell needs to stand and fight."</s>(WASHINGTON) — The federal government shut down at the stroke of midnight Friday, halting all but the most essential operations and marring the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump’s inauguration in a striking display of Washington dysfunction.

Last-minute negotiations crumbled as Senate Democrats blocked a four-week stopgap extension in a late-night vote, causing the fourth government shutdown in a quarter century. The slide toward closure lacked for high drama: The Senate vote was all but predetermined, and since the shutdown began at the start of a weekend, many of the immediate effects will be muted for most Americans.

Still, it comes with no shortage of embarrassment for the president and political risk for both parties, as they wager that voters will punish the other at the ballot box in November.

Social Security and most other safety net programs are unaffected by the lapse in federal spending authority. Critical government functions will continue, with uniformed service members, health inspectors and law enforcement officers set to work without pay. But if no deal is brokered before Monday, hundreds of thousands of federal employees will be furloughed.

After hours of closed-door meetings and phone calls, the Senate scheduled its late-night vote on a House-passed plan. It gained 50 votes to proceed to 48 against, but 60 were needed to break a Democratic filibuster. A handful of red-state Democrats crossing the aisle to support the measure, rather than take the politically-risky vote. Four Republicans voted in opposition.

In an unusual move, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell allowed the roll call to exceed 90 minutes — instead of the usual 20 or so — seemingly accommodating the numerous discussions among leaders and other lawmakers. Still as midnight passed and the calendar turned, there was no obvious off-ramp to the political stalemate. Each party expressed resolve in its position — and confidence that the other would suffer the wrath of voters.

Even before the vote, Trump was pessimistic, tweeting, “Not looking good” and blaming the Democrats who he said actually wanted the shutdown “to help diminish the success” of the tax bill he and fellow Republicans pushed through last month.

Democrats balked on the measure in an effort to pressure on the White House to cut a deal to protect “dreamer” immigrants — who were brought to the country as children and are now here illegally — before their legal protection runs out in March.

The president watched the results from the White House residence, dialing up allies and affirming his belief that Democrats would take the blame for the shutdown, said a person familiar with his conversations but not authorized to discuss them publicly.

Predictably, both parties moved swiftly to blame one another. Democrats laid fault with Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress and the White House and have struggled with building internal consensus. Republicans declared Democrats responsible, after they declined to provide the votes needed to overcome a filibuster in the Senate over their desire to force the passage of legislation to protect some 700,000 younger immigrants from deportation.

Republicans branded the confrontation a “Schumer shutdown” and argued that Democrats were harming fellow Americans to protect “illegal immigrants.”

Trump had brought Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer to the White House Friday afternoon in hopes of cutting a deal. But the two New Yorkers, who pride themselves on their negotiating abilities, emerged without an agreement, and Republicans and Democrats in Congress continued to pass off responsibility.

“We made some progress, but we still have a good number of disagreements,” Schumer said upon returning to Capitol Hill. Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told CNN that “Not much has changed” over the course of the day, but he predicted a deal would be reached by Monday, when most government offices are to reopen after the weekend.

Democrats in the Senate had served notice they would filibuster the government-wide funding bill that cleared the House Thursday evening. They were seeking an even shorter extension that they think would keep the pressure on the White House to cut a deal to protect the “dreamer” immigrants.

Trump first described his discussion with Schumer as an “excellent preliminary meeting,” tweeting that lawmakers were “making progress – four week extension would be best!” But that optimism faded as the evening wore on.

Senate GOP leader John Cornyn of Texas said Trump told Schumer to work things out with McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan. McConnell did not attend the meeting because he was not invited, a Senate GOP aide said.

Trump had been an unreliable negotiator in the weeks leading up to the showdown. Earlier this week he tweeted opposition to the four-week plan, forcing the White House to later affirm his support. He expressed openness to extending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, only to reject a bipartisan proposal. His disparaging remarks about African and Haitian immigrants last week helped derail further negotiations.

Trump had been set to leave Friday afternoon to attend a fundraiser at his Palm Beach, Florida, estate marking the one-year anniversary of his inauguration but delayed his travel.

“I think the president’s been very clear: he’s not leaving until this is finished,” Mulvaney told reporters.

As word of the Schumer meeting spread, the White House hastened to reassure Republican congressional leaders that Trump would not make any major policy concessions, said a person familiar with the conversations but not authorized to be quoted by name.

On Capitol Hill, McConnell said Americans at home would be watching to see “which senators make the patriotic decision” and which “vote to shove aside veterans, military families and vulnerable children to hold the entire country hostage… until we pass an immigration bill.”

Across the Capitol, the House backed away from a plan to adjourn for a one-week recess, meaning the GOP-controlled chamber could wait for a last-minute compromise that would require a new vote. But it wasn’t coming Friday night.

“We can’t keep kicking the can down the road,” said Schumer, insisting on more urgency in talks on immigration. “In another month, we’ll be right back here, at this moment, with the same web of problems at our feet, in no better position to solve them.”

The four-week measure would have been the fourth stopgap spending bill since the current budget year started in October. A pile of unfinished Capitol Hill business has been on hold, first as Republicans ironed out last fall’s tax bill and now as Democrats insist on progress on immigration. Talks on a budget deal to ease tight spending limits on both the Pentagon and domestic agencies are on hold, as is progress on a huge $80 billion-plus disaster aid bill.

Before Thursday night’s House approval, GOP leaders sweetened the stopgap measure with legislation to extend for six years a popular health care program for children from low-income families and two-year delays in unpopular “Obamacare” taxes on medical devices and generous employer-provided health plans.

A shutdown would be the first since 2013, when tea party Republicans — in a strategy not unlike the one Schumer is employing now — sought to use a must-pass funding bill to try to force then-President Barack Obama to delay implementation of his marquee health care law. At the time, Trump told Fox & Friends that the ultimate blame for a shutdown lies at the top. “I really think the pressure is on the president,” he said.

Arguing that Trump’s predecessors “weaponized” that shutdown, Mulvaney said Friday the budget office would direct agencies to work to mitigate the impact this time. That position is a striking role-reversal for the conservative former congressman, who was one of the architects of the 2013 shutdown over the Affordable Care Act.

With no agreement by midnight, the government would begin immediately locking its doors. The impact would initially be spotty — since most agencies would be closed until Monday — but each party would be gambling the public would blame the other.

In the event of a shutdown, food inspections, federal law enforcement, airport security checks, and other vital services would continue, as would Social Security, other federal benefit programs and military operations.</s>US Govt Shutdown Begins as Senate Fails to Pass New Budget

The US government has shut down for the first time since 2013 after Congress failed to resolve a partisan standoff over immigration and spending.

In a late-night vote, Senate Democrats blocked a bill that would have kept the government running for another four weeks.

A flurry of last-minute negotiations failed to beat the deadline.

Democrats have tried to use the Friday night funding deadline to win concessions from Republicans, including an extension of an Obama-era program protecting some young immigrants from deportation.

The program is set to expire in March. Republicans sought more time for talks, but Democrats refused.

The shutdown is only the fourth government closure in 25 years. It will only partially curb government operations. Uniformed service members, health inspectors, and law enforcement officers are set to work without pay.

After hours of closed-door meetings and phone calls, the Senate scheduled its late-night vote on a House-passed plan.

It gained 50 votes to proceed to 49 against, but 60 were needed to break a Democratic filibuster. A handful of red-state Democrats crossed the aisle to support the measure, rather than take a politically risky vote. Four Republicans voted in opposition.

In an unusual move, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell allowed the roll call to exceed 90 minutes – instead of the usual 20 or so – and run past midnight, seemingly accommodating the numerous discussions among leaders and other lawmakers.

Still as midnight passed and the calendar turned, there was no obvious off-ramp to the political stalemate.

Even before the vote, Mr Trump was pessimistic, tweeting that Democrats actually wanted the shutdown “to help diminish the success” of the tax bill he and fellow Republicans pushed through last month.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders later termed the Democrats “obstructionist losers” in a tweet sent from the White House’s official account.

Since the closure began at the start of a weekend, many of the immediate effects will be muted for most Americans.

But any damage could build quickly if the closure is prolonged.

Follow us on Twitter at @thesignalng

Copyright 2018 SIGNAL. Permission to use portions of this article is granted provided appropriate credits are given to www.signalng.com and other relevant sources.

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This post was syndicated from SIGNAL. Click here to read the full text on the original website.</s>The federal government partially shut down for the first time since 2013 early Saturday, after a House-passed bill failed to garner enough votes to clear the Senate amid a bruising battle over immigration and spending.

Funding expired as most Senate Democrats voted against the House bill that would have extended operations through Feb. 16, as well as delay Obamacare taxes and extend the Children’s Health Insurance Program for six years.

But the bill did not address the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, which President Donald Trump has ordered an end to. Democrats want to extend the program, which spares certain undocumented immigrants from deportation.

A shutdown coincides with Trump’s one-year anniversary in office on Saturday.

Earlier Friday, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer said he and Trump had made some progress after a meeting in the Oval Office. But Trump tweeted late Friday the situation was “not looking good.”

Five Senate Democrats joined most Republicans in voting for the bill to keep the government open: Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Doug Jones of Alabama, Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Claire McCaskill of Missouri. All but Jones are up for re-election next year in states that Trump won in 2016.

Five Senate Republicans voted against the House bill, including Jeff Flake of Arizona, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Mike Lee of Utah and Rand Paul of Kentucky. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell also voted “no,” so he will be able to call up a stopgap budget for another vote later.

McConnell said he would offer a bill to keep the government open through Feb. 8.

Finger pointing intensified Friday, with the White House pinning a shutdown on Schumer. The New York Democrat had said Thursday a deal was “within reach” on immigration and spending.

In a statement late Friday, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said the Trump administration would not negotiate “the status of unlawful immigrants while Democrats hold our lawful citizens hostage over their reckless demands.

“This is the behavior of obstructionist losers, not legislators.”

Markets shrugged off the drama on Friday. U.S. stocks finished Friday and the week higher. Both the S&P 500 SPX, +0.44% and the Nasdaq COMP, +0.55% ended at records as optimism about corporate earnings outweighed shutdown fears.

A shutdown will have muted effects over the weekend, when many federal offices are closed. Negotiators could work through the weekend to strike a deal.

Without a new spending bill, federal employees will be furloughed, but the U.S. mail will be delivered and military personnel will remain on duty.

Read more: Here’s what would happen if the government shuts down.</s>US shutdown begins as Senate fails to pass budget

The US government has begun a federal shutdown after the Senate failed to agree on a new budget, the BBC reported today.

Despite last minute bipartisan meetings, the Bill to fund the government until 16 February did not receive the required 60 votes.

It is the first shutdown ever to happen while the same party, the Republicans, controls Congress and the White House.

In response, the White House accused Democrats of holding “lawful citizens hostage over their reckless demands”.

“They put politics above our national security, military families, vulnerable children, and our country’s ability to serve all Americans”, spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

But Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said President Donald Trump had turned down two bipartisan compromise deals and “did not press his party in Congress”.

It was unclear which way the vote would go as the midnight deadline approached, with Republicans and Democrats split on key issues.

The House of Representatives voted 230-197 on Thursday night to extend funding until next month, but the measure failed to pass the Senate by a margin of 50-49.

Five Republicans voted against the Bill while five Democrats broke ranks to support it.

The last US shutdown happened in 2013 and lasted for 16 days, during which many federal employees took a forced leave of absence.

Many government offices will close as federal law requires agencies to shut down if Congress has not allocated money to fund them.</s>A key Senate vote to avoid a government shutdown failed Friday night, as the shutdown deadline passed without a deal in place.

Congressional leaders are continuing to debate a deal on the Senate floor.

Sixty votes were needed to advance the bill. Republicans only control 51 seats, so GOP leaders needed Democratic votes to cross that threshold. As of 11 p.m. ET, the vote was still technically ongoing but enough senators had voted against the plan to prevent it from advancing.

While the vote has been left open, congressional leaders -- including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer -- are working to come up with a deal on the floor of the chamber. A senior GOP source says at this point, there is not enough time or space for a last minute deal. The source says the talks on the floor are, indeed, real and "potentially productive" but the gap is too big to bridge right now.

One of the key issues in the final moments before the shutdown has been just how long to extend funding. The House passed a measure Thursday night to continue funding the government through February 16, and that measure is the one that appeared on track to fail in the Senate. Democrats have pushed for a shorter-term continuing resolution of a couple days. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who said he would not vote for the House proposal, pushed a plan to keep the government open until February 8.

Two sources say Democrats have pitched a new continuing resolution that would expire on January 29, the day before President Donald Trump's State of the Union address. Republicans are not willing to consider that, one source says, but conversations are still ongoing.

Two GOP sources say that Graham's three-week compromise idea wasn't by accident -- it is the off-ramp on the table, if Democrats are willing to take it.

"It's a live option," one of the sources said -- one Democrats have been told is an acceptable change for Republicans. The big question, the sources said, is whether it goes nearly far enough for Democrats who've listed a litany if reasons for their opposition.

Searching for a deal in the Senate

On Friday afternoon, McConnell got a second and third Senate Democrat -- Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana and later Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota -- to say that they would vote to keep the government open until February 16. However, since at least two Republicans have said they'll vote against the measure, the Kentucky Republican still might need as many as dozen more members of the opposing party in order to pass the plan.

Trump showed his support for the House plan just hours before that vote was scheduled.

"Excellent preliminary meeting in Oval with @SenSchumer - working on solutions for Security and our great Military together with @SenateMajLdr McConnell and @SpeakerRyan. Making progress - four week extension would be best!" Trump tweeted Friday evening, a reference to the Republican-backed plan of funding government for the next four weeks as opposed to just a couple of days, as pitched by Democratic leaders.

White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" that as efforts continue to reach an agreement, "we're in a weekend so we have a little more flexibility here."

On Friday evening, Trump also spoke by phone to House Speaker Paul Ryan, according to a source familiar.

Not speaking to each other: McConnell and Schumer. Three sources told CNN that the two leaders in the Senate had not spoken to each other on Friday as of 5 p.m. ET and have no conversations scheduled.

Rep. John Yarmuth, a Kentucky Democrat, told reporters that the House Democratic leadership team concluded at their meeting Friday night there would be a government shutdown and the group expected it to last through early next week.

"I think it is almost 100% likely that the government will shut down for some period of time -- now my guess is it won't go past the first of the week -- in which the disruption won't be particularly severe," said Yarmuth, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee.

Pelosi gave a very brief overview to the leadership team of what Schumer told her about his meeting with the President. According to Yarmuth, Schumer laid out what his priorities are and the President said he wanted the Senate to pass the House bill. Asked why the meeting lasted so long, he quipped, "Well, Trump repeats himself, that's what I understand."

Yarmuth expected the House, which was scheduled to be out of session next week, would likely come back just for a day to approve some type of stopgap bill.

"There are all sorts of things being discussed apparently, from one day to three days, to five days, to three weeks to four weeks. Four weeks being the president's position." He said Democrats would be fine with backing some type of short term continuing resolution.

Some Democratic aides for progressive members have been worried that Schumer would cut a deal and give away leverage on some of their priorities, but Yarmuth insisted that the House and Senate Democrats are "in 100% agreement on this and totally working hand in hand."

Earlier Friday, Trump called Schumer and invited the New York Democrat personally, a person familiar with the plans told CNN.

Trump's chief of staff John Kelly was the only White House official present at the meeting, a person familiar told CNN.

McConnell was not at the meeting, a source said, adding that he and Trump have been in touch during the day by telephone. Neither was Ryan, who was addressing the "March for Life" rally around the same time. McConnell and Ryan were aware that the White House was going to invite Schumer to the White House, one Republican source said.

"We had a long and detailed meeting," Schumer told reporters in brief remarks he made upon returning the Capitol, but he did not include any specifics from their discussion. "We made good progress and will continue."

Schumer then met with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin in his office.

"I think the leader made a statement that progress had been made but much more needs to be done," Pelosi told CNN upon leaving Schumer's office.

"It's in the hands of the leader," Durbin told CNN.

White House aides made clear to GOP staff this morning there was no daylight between the President and Hill Republicans this morning, especially on immigration, according to two sources.

Still, some congressional leaders eyed the Schumer meeting warily.

When asked by CNN if he was worried about Trump meeting with only Schumer, Sen. John Cornyn responded, "The thought did cross my mind."

"I don't think there is" going to be a shutdown, Cornyn said, but added, "I can't tell you exactly what the path forward is right now."

The mood on Capitol Hill: Both sides talking past each other

A Democratic senator told CNN a realization set in at the Senate gym Friday morning that Republicans and Democrats were just talking past each other and making incorrect assumptions about how to address each others' issues and demands seriously upping the odds of a shutdown.

Several GOP senators, for example, were trying to find out from Democrats why they are dug in against the House's short-term spending mechanism. Why won't they believe that Republicans will deal with DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, later? The program expires March 5, but Republicans' message to their colleagues was "come on, you know we won't deport DACA recipients."

Democrats, however, feel trust has eroded after immigration negotiations broke down last week when Trump went from saying he'd accept a bipartisan solution on DACA in one meeting and then two days later rejecting a bill authored by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican, and Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin. In that same meeting Trump used vulgar language to describe the African countries where some immigrants come from.

Adding to the angst was the fact that Graham and Durbin thought they were gaining momentum on their bill this week and were winning over more Republicans only to hear that GOP leaders had convinced several of those Republicans to peel back off. Graham and Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona who also worked on the bipartisan bill, have said they will not support the House-passed CR.

At this point, Senate Republicans are hoping to get more guidance from Trump and the White House about how to proceed. However, a bipartisan group of senators -- members who know and have long-standing relationships with one another-- have yet to sit down and try to hammer out a compromise.

House members had been scheduled to be on recess next week, but many said they weren't going home until they knew there was resolution.

"I'm not going home if the government shuts down," said Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson.

Rep. Austin Scott, a Republican from Georgia, told CNN that he was also prepared to stay, although he added "Mitch McConnell needs to stand and fight."</s>A key Senate vote to avoid a government shutdown failed Friday night, as the shutdown deadline passed without a deal in place.

Congressional leaders are continuing to debate a deal on the Senate floor.

Sixty votes were needed to advance the bill. Republicans only control 51 seats, so GOP leaders needed Democratic votes to cross that threshold. As of 11 p.m. ET, the vote was still technically ongoing but enough senators had voted against the plan to prevent it from advancing.

While the vote has been left open, congressional leaders -- including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer -- are working to come up with a deal on the floor of the chamber. A senior GOP source says at this point, there is not enough time or space for a last minute deal. The source says the talks on the floor are, indeed, real and "potentially productive" but the gap is too big to bridge right now.

One of the key issues in the final moments before the shutdown has been just how long to extend funding. The House passed a measure Thursday night to continue funding the government through February 16, and that measure is the one that appeared on track to fail in the Senate. Democrats have pushed for a shorter-term continuing resolution of a couple days. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican who said he would not vote for the House proposal, pushed a plan to keep the government open until February 8.

Two sources say Democrats have pitched a new continuing resolution that would expire on January 29, the day before President Donald Trump's State of the Union address. Republicans are not willing to consider that, one source says, but conversations are still ongoing.

Two GOP sources say that Graham's three-week compromise idea wasn't by accident -- it is the off-ramp on the table, if Democrats are willing to take it.

"It's a live option," one of the sources said -- one Democrats have been told is an acceptable change for Republicans. The big question, the sources said, is whether it goes nearly far enough for Democrats who've listed a litany if reasons for their opposition.

Searching for a deal in the Senate

On Friday afternoon, McConnell got a second and third Senate Democrat -- Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana and later Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota -- to say that they would vote to keep the government open until February 16. However, since at least two Republicans have said they'll vote against the measure, the Kentucky Republican still might need as many as dozen more members of the opposing party in order to pass the plan.

Trump showed his support for the House plan just hours before that vote was scheduled.

"Excellent preliminary meeting in Oval with @SenSchumer - working on solutions for Security and our great Military together with @SenateMajLdr McConnell and @SpeakerRyan. Making progress - four week extension would be best!" Trump tweeted Friday evening, a reference to the Republican-backed plan of funding government for the next four weeks as opposed to just a couple of days, as pitched by Democratic leaders.

White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney told CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer" that as efforts continue to reach an agreement, "we're in a weekend so we have a little more flexibility here."

On Friday evening, Trump also spoke by phone to House Speaker Paul Ryan, according to a source familiar.

Not speaking to each other: McConnell and Schumer. Three sources told CNN that the two leaders in the Senate had not spoken to each other on Friday as of 5 p.m. ET and have no conversations scheduled.

Rep. John Yarmuth, a Kentucky Democrat, told reporters that the House Democratic leadership team concluded at their meeting Friday night there would be a government shutdown and the group expected it to last through early next week.

"I think it is almost 100% likely that the government will shut down for some period of time -- now my guess is it won't go past the first of the week -- in which the disruption won't be particularly severe," said Yarmuth, the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee.

Pelosi gave a very brief overview to the leadership team of what Schumer told her about his meeting with the President. According to Yarmuth, Schumer laid out what his priorities are and the President said he wanted the Senate to pass the House bill. Asked why the meeting lasted so long, he quipped, "Well, Trump repeats himself, that's what I understand."

Yarmuth expected the House, which was scheduled to be out of session next week, would likely come back just for a day to approve some type of stopgap bill.

"There are all sorts of things being discussed apparently, from one day to three days, to five days, to three weeks to four weeks. Four weeks being the president's position." He said Democrats would be fine with backing some type of short term continuing resolution.

Some Democratic aides for progressive members have been worried that Schumer would cut a deal and give away leverage on some of their priorities, but Yarmuth insisted that the House and Senate Democrats are "in 100% agreement on this and totally working hand in hand."

Earlier Friday, Trump called Schumer and invited the New York Democrat personally, a person familiar with the plans told CNN.

Trump's chief of staff John Kelly was the only White House official present at the meeting, a person familiar told CNN.

McConnell was not at the meeting, a source said, adding that he and Trump have been in touch during the day by telephone. Neither was Ryan, who was addressing the "March for Life" rally around the same time. McConnell and Ryan were aware that the White House was going to invite Schumer to the White House, one Republican source said.

"We had a long and detailed meeting," Schumer told reporters in brief remarks he made upon returning the Capitol, but he did not include any specifics from their discussion. "We made good progress and will continue."

Schumer then met with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin in his office.

"I think the leader made a statement that progress had been made but much more needs to be done," Pelosi told CNN upon leaving Schumer's office.

"It's in the hands of the leader," Durbin told CNN.

White House aides made clear to GOP staff this morning there was no daylight between the President and Hill Republicans this morning, especially on immigration, according to two sources.

Still, some congressional leaders eyed the Schumer meeting warily.

When asked by CNN if he was worried about Trump meeting with only Schumer, Sen. John Cornyn responded, "The thought did cross my mind."

"I don't think there is" going to be a shutdown, Cornyn said, but added, "I can't tell you exactly what the path forward is right now."

The mood on Capitol Hill: Both sides talking past each other

A Democratic senator told CNN a realization set in at the Senate gym Friday morning that Republicans and Democrats were just talking past each other and making incorrect assumptions about how to address each others' issues and demands seriously upping the odds of a shutdown.

Several GOP senators, for example, were trying to find out from Democrats why they are dug in against the House's short-term spending mechanism. Why won't they believe that Republicans will deal with DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, later? The program expires March 5, but Republicans' message to their colleagues was "come on, you know we won't deport DACA recipients."

Democrats, however, feel trust has eroded after immigration negotiations broke down last week when Trump went from saying he'd accept a bipartisan solution on DACA in one meeting and then two days later rejecting a bill authored by South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, a Republican, and Illinois Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin. In that same meeting Trump used vulgar language to describe the African countries where some immigrants come from.

Adding to the angst was the fact that Graham and Durbin thought they were gaining momentum on their bill this week and were winning over more Republicans only to hear that GOP leaders had convinced several of those Republicans to peel back off. Graham and Sen. Jeff Flake, a Republican from Arizona who also worked on the bipartisan bill, have said they will not support the House-passed CR.

At this point, Senate Republicans are hoping to get more guidance from Trump and the White House about how to proceed. However, a bipartisan group of senators -- members who know and have long-standing relationships with one another-- have yet to sit down and try to hammer out a compromise.

House members had been scheduled to be on recess next week, but many said they weren't going home until they knew there was resolution.

"I'm not going home if the government shuts down," said Idaho Republican Rep. Mike Simpson.

Rep. Austin Scott, a Republican from Georgia, told CNN that he was also prepared to stay, although he added "Mitch McConnell needs to stand and fight."
The United States federal government shuts down after the United States Senate fails to pass a budget bill.