The shutdown showdown rages on.
Speaker of the House John Boehner told his fellow Republicans Monday night to prepare for a government shutdown, diminishing any lingering optimism that a budget deal would be reached between Democrats and Republicans by April 8.
President Obama met with Boehner on Tuesday to try and finalize a deal that would cut about $33 billion from this year's budget. The current short-term funding deal expires Friday, and unless the two sides can come to a long-term agreement, the government will shut down.
The cuts are far more than the left originally wanted to concede, but still not nearly enough to satisfy the appetite for budget-slashing among Tea Party-backed Republicans, who wanted to cut at least $61 billion.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Obama said no deal was reached, but said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Boehner would meet later Tuesday to continue negotiations. If no plan is finalized, Obama said he would meet with the duo again on Wednesday.
"There's no reason why we shouldn't get an agreement," said Obama. "...The only question is if politics or ideology will prevent a government shutdown." The President said that won't accept another temporary spending plan.
"We've already done that twice. We did it once for two weeks, and another for three weeks. That is not a way to run a government," he said.
Boehner instructed House Administration Committee Chairman Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) to start making plans on how the House would operate if the government does shut down, although he still planned to negotiate, according to an aide.
And the Obama administration advised government agencies to also prepare for a shutdown.
Two short-term deals earlier this year delayed a possible government shutdown, but the two sides can't agree on a long-term fix. The sides are engaged in a finger-pointing war over who's to blame.
The House Appropriations Committee has proposed a new temporary measure to keep the government running for just a week by slashing $12 billion. But some see that offer as a gambit to shift blame for an eventual government shutdown onto Democrats rather than a proposal with a legitimate chance of bipartisan support.
Americans, too, are divided over who would be at fault for a potential government shutdown.
More Americans - 39% - said they'd blame the GOP if a deal can't be reached by the end of this week, according to a new Pew Research Center poll. In comparison, 36% said they'd blame the Obama administration.
With News Wire Services
ashahid@nydailynews.com
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