Top lawmakers from both parties and senior administration officials will meet this week for more negotiations to reach an overall spending agreement that would avoid billions in automatic cuts this fall, Politico reported Monday.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) are expected to meet with Acting White House Chief of Staff Mitch Mulvaney, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, and Acting Management and Budget Office Director Ross Voight to discuss a two-year agreement.
All parties acknowledge an agreement remains elusive, particularly given that the GOP-led Senate and the White House have not yet agreed on topline spending, according to Politico.
The leaders met in May and reported significant progress, but since then talks stalled due to personal squabbling between President Donald Trump and Pelosi.
McConnell and McCarthy have since worked to resume negotiations, seeking to avoid $125 billion in mandatory DOD and domestic spending cuts short of a comprehensive budget deal by Oct. 1.