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'If There's a Shutdown, There's a Shutdown': Can Congress Seal the Deal in Time?

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WASHINGTON – If lawmakers can't strike a deal by midnight, the government will shut down as Congress works to pass a trillion dollar budget.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., says they are "very close" to completing the massive spending plan.

"We'll see what happens," President Donald Trump told Reuters in an interview. "If there's a shutdown, there's a shutdown."

The bipartisan budget talks have progressed smoothly after the president compromised the U.S.-Mexico border wall, suggesting funding would wait until September.

To top that reports out of Capitol Hill reveal Republicans are willing to pass a stopgap funding measure without Democratic votes.

Congress could also approve a week-long stopgap measure to keep agencies open since neither party favors a federal shutdown.

"We are never going to shut the government down. In fact, we don't even have the power to do so," said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.

The budget deadline comes one day before President Trump's 100th day in office.

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About The Author

Ben
Kennedy

Ben Kennedy is an Emmy Award-winning White House correspondent for CBN News in Washington, D.C. He has more than a decade of reporting experience covering breaking news nationwide. He's traveled cross country covering the President and scored exclusive interviews with lawmakers and White House officials. Kennedy spent seven years reporting for WPLG, the ABC affiliate in Miami, Florida. While there he reported live from Kingston, Jamaica, as Hurricane Matthew hit the island. He was the first journalist to interview Diana Nyad moments after her historic swim from Cuba to Key West. He reported