House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) drew a clear line in the sand Wednesday on what a deal to stop a government shutdown must look like, telling reporters he will not accept any type of unwritten agreement.

Why it matters: It’s the latest stumbling block in the tense and largely fruitless cross-party posturing over the need to extend federal funding past September.

  • Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) had initially secured a meeting with President Trump earlier this week, but it was cancelled at the urging of Republican congressional leaders.
  • Funding is set to run out at midnight on Sept. 30, at which point most federal agencies will shut down without a spending agreement from Congress.
    • PhilipTheBucket@quokk.au
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      3 days ago

      Seriously.

      “So you’re threatening to throw us and our allies into prison, taking over the media and financial systems of the country in an unprecedented bloodless coup, and you have the nation’s law enforcement roaming the land turned against the residents and in some cases the citizens, throwing them into several varieties of extra-judicial hellholes without even a pretense of due process, and now you’re convening the nation’s military leaders for God knows what reason but the most obvious would be loyalty oaths and discussions about turning the federal military against the people of the country.”

      “I tell you boy, that is IT! I will not help you fund this endeavor anymore unless you write down for me what the deal is. No more Mr. Nice Guy.”