Sen. Bill Cassidy said Friday that "the reality is that there's not a final deal that would be available by midnight" to avert a federal government shutdown.
"There's just not," the Louisiana Republican told Brooke Baldwin on CNN as Congress faced a midnight deadline Friday to fund the government.
"If there's a deal to be had, the deal is fund the government till Feb. 16 and reauthorize CHIP for six years," Cassidy said, referring to the Children's Health Insurance Program. "Fund the military.
"There's a deal to be had."
President Donald Trump and Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met for about 90 minutes at the White House Friday in a last-ditch attempt to reach an agreement that would keep the government operating.
Trump, a native New Yorker who has contributed to Schumer's political campaigns over the years, called the Democrat to the Oval Office to try to avert a shutdown.
Republicans and Democrat are bitterly divided over whether any plan includes legislation to extend CHIP and to protect about 700,000 immigrants affected by the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.
The House approved a 30-day continuing resolution Thursday that would keep the government running through Feb. 16 — while the White House and Republicans blamed Senate Democrats Friday for the current impasse.
Without a funding plan, the government closes Friday at midnight. A 16-day partial shutdown in October 2013 cost American taxpayers $1.4 billion.
Other shutdowns occurred in 1995 and 1996.
Cassidy emphasized that he was more concerned about keeping CHIP running — affecting as many as 9 million children in his state — than funding DACA, which is set to expire on March 5.
"The DACA deal can be worked out," he told Baldwin. "What's important is keeping the government open, keeping CHIP going, reportedly the common ground between Republicans and Democrats.
"That's the deal to be had."
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