‘Chaotic’ US Congress hurtles toward new government shutdown deadline

The U.S. Congress on Monday showed no sign of moving forward on spending bills to avoid a partial government shutdown in just five days, as lawmakers entered a new week of political chaos over funding and aid to U.S. allies.
The top Democrats and Republicans in Congress on Tuesday are due to visit the White House to meet with Democratic President Joe Biden, who has been pushing for months for fresh aid to Ukraine and Israel, as well as urging lawmakers to avoid a shutdown.
Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell dismissed the shutdown danger on Monday as he exited a meeting in Democratic Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s office, telling reporters: “No, we’re not going to shut the government down.”
Schumer told reporters earlier that “Democrats are doing everything we can to avoid a shutdown.”
But the two Senate leaders do not speak for the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where a group of conservative hardliners have repeatedly blocked legislation.