White House Not Confident in Avoiding Government Shutdown

White House budget director Shalanda Young expressed doubts on Friday about the possibility of reaching a deal to prevent a partial government shutdown later this month.

“I wouldn’t say pessimistic but I’m not optimistic,” Young said at a breakfast meeting with reporters sponsored by the Christian Science Monitor, referring to a recent trip by House Republicans to the U.S.-Mexico border and comments by some lawmakers advocating for a partial shutdown with only two weeks remaining. “The rhetoric this week has concerned me that [a shutdown] is the path that House Republicans are headed down.”

Congress is set to return to Washington next week to address the Jan. 19 and Feb. 2 deadlines for government spending through September, with Republican demands to reduce fiscal 2024 discretionary spending below caps agreed in June.

Lawmakers also aim to pass emergency aid for Ukraine and Israel, possibly with unrelated U.S. border security provisions attached.

Young urged House Republicans to reach a deal on border security and policy reforms, emphasizing that they will not “get everything they want and people have to know how to take a deal.”

She also made an urgent call for Congress to approve more funding for Ukraine, saying, “We have got to get to a deal, not start from scratch with new talks.” She stressed that “this is dire.”

Furthermore, she explained that it is not just about the direct funding to Ukraine from the United States “but what signal that sends across the world.”