Congressional leaders leave ‘intense,’ ‘frank’ White House meeting with government shutdown threat growing

Join Fox News for access to this content Plus special access to select articles and other premium content with your account - free of charge. Please enter a valid email address. By entering your email and pushing continue, you are agreeing to Fox News' Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, which includes our Notice of Financial Incentive. To access the content, check your email and follow the instructions provided. Having trouble? Click here.

The top four congressional leaders left the White House on Tuesday after an "intense" sit-down with President Biden as the clock ticks down to a possible partial government shutdown at the end of this week.

The lawmakers — House Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — affirmed that all four were committed to finding some kind of deal on government funding by Friday but gave little insight into how they planned to do so.

The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the upcoming federal spending deadlines on March 1 and March 8, as well as the need to pass aid for Ukraine.

Schumer described the discussions on government funding as "productive and intense," and said he expressed that a short-term extension of fiscal year 2023's funding, known as a continuing resolution (CR), might be needed to buy more time to reach a deal.

CONGRESS LIKELY TO PUNT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN DEADLINES AGAIN, SOURCES SAY

Jeffries said the meeting was "honest" and "candid," and that it included "firm discussions about the border."

Johnson, who met with Biden one-on-one after the main meeting concluded, called both conversations "frank and honest."

"The speaker said unequivocally he wants to avoid a government shutdown,"