U.S. Capitol Building. Reuters Yonhap News. 

Despite the looming federal government shutdown, the Republican and Democratic parties in the United States remained at odds on the 28th (local time) over the passage of a short-term spending bill necessary to prevent it.

In an interview with NBC on the same day, Senate Republican Leader John Thune criticized the Democratic Party for not cooperating with the passage of the temporary budget bill to advance their left-wing agenda, stating that the Democrats were holding the federal government "hostage."

"This is entirely up to the Democrats," Thune said. "There is a bill on the desk in the Senate right now. We can take up the bill and pass it today."

Congress has failed to agree on a government budget for the period after September 30, when the 2025 fiscal year ends.

A seven-week short-term spending bill (temporary budget bill, CR) to keep government agencies operational after the end of the fiscal year was passed in the House of Representatives on September 19, led by Republicans, but was rejected in the Senate the same day.

While Republicans hold a majority in both the House and the Senate, the Senate requires 60 votes, not a simple majority, to pass a temporary budget bill. Therefore, the Republican Party, which currently holds 53 seats, needs at least seven Democratic votes to secure passage.

The Republican Party's position is to pass a "clean CR," which maintains the current spending levels of government agencies, to buy time for the 2026 fiscal year budget process and negotiations.

Republicans argue that there is no reason for Democrats to oppose the CR as it would not change anything from the current situation. However, from the Democratic perspective, they cannot accept it because it would mean the budget bill passed by Republicans, despite Democratic opposition this year, would remain in effect.

Democrats are opposing the passage of the CR, demanding an extension of subsidies for "Obamacare" (ACA - Affordable Care Act), a public health insurance program.

The premium subsidies, implemented during the previous Biden administration, are scheduled to expire at the end of this year.

In an interview with ABC News, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries stated, "Our position is very clear. We want to reverse budget cuts, lower costs, and protect healthcare."

Leaders from both parties and the opposition at President Trump's inauguration ceremony. EPA Yonhap News. 

As congressional negotiations have been in a prolonged stalemate, President Trump, who had previously refused a request for a meeting from the Democratic leadership, has agreed to meet directly with the leaders of both parties on the afternoon of the 29th.

The meeting will be attended by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries from the Democratic Party, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson from the Republican Party.

Attention is focused on whether the parties can find common ground at this meeting, which will take place two days before some federal government agency activities are suspended starting October 1 if a budget bill is not passed.

However, neither side shows any signs of backing down.

"I hope this will be a serious negotiation," said Senate Minority Leader Schumer in an NBC interview. "It should not be a situation where one party creates a purely partisan bill and says, 'Take it or leave it.'"

On the other hand, House Speaker Johnson argued on CNN, "Obamacare subsidies are a policy discussion item that needs to be decided by the end of this year. It is not something we should do right now while we are trying to simply keep the government running so we can have those discussions."

President Trump is also pressuring the Democrats, warning that if a government shutdown occurs, he will dismiss a large number of federal employees whose roles do not align with his domestic policy priorities.

Yonhap News