The threat of a government shutdown is soaring - so Trump is stepping in to try and win over Republican hold-outs
- The government will shut down if no funding bill is passed by the end of Friday.
- Conservative House members in the Freedom Caucus are currently against the Republican leadership's plan to avoid the shutdown, putting the plan in jeopardy.
- President Donald Trump called into a Freedom Caucus meeting in an attempt to win over the members.
President Donald Trump is doing his best to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the week, but it may not be enough to dodge the political disaster.
A government shutdown is looming, with the deadline at the end of Friday. The current Republican funding deal to prevent a shutdown is facing long odds as many Republicans are balking at the short-term nature of the bill.
In the House, the primary resistance is coming from the hardline conservative Freedom Caucus. The group believes the short-term bill - called a continuing resolution (CR) - would not give the military adequate resources to perform at a high level.
According to Freedom Caucus members, Trump called into their meeting on Thursday in an attempt to negotiate a deal with the group and get them to vote for the House bill.
Rep. Mark Meadows, the chair of the caucus, told Business Insider following the meeting that there is "no distance" between he and Trump on policy but there are still issues to resolve.
"Obviously I've talked to the president, but at this particular point we've got a whole lot that we've got to get done and nothing has changed," Meadows said following the meeting.
A vote on the bill is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET in the House.
Even if the bill is passed, the deal also faces strong resistance in the Senate, where three GOP members have already said they will vote against the House bill.