Monday's last-minute meeting with President Trump is a "first step", says the Senate's minority leader, Democrat Chuck Schumer.
But just a first step. We need a serious negotiation, he says in NBC's "Meet the press".
The deadline for reaching an agreement on the US state budget is set to midnight Tuesday, September 30.
If Congress has not approved a proposal - and President Donald Trump has not signed the proposal in question - before then, several authorities will be closed and federal officials will be laid off. The shutdown is expected to heavily increase the burden on the country's economy.
Republicans want to get Democrats to vote against legislation that would largely keep state funding at current levels, but so far Democrats have stood firm. Instead, they demand that Congress adopt legislation that extends the healthcare benefits that have given millions of Americans subsidized health insurance since the pandemic.
Trump, however, has shown zero interest in the Democratic demands regarding healthcare. Instead, he has repeated his expectation of a full shutdown of the government apparatus this week - and threatened with mass layoffs if so.
If it has to close, it has to close, said the President on Friday and put the blame on the Democrats.
