Johnson said to commit to avoiding shutdown during White House meeting

Speaker Mike Johnson made "unequivocally" clear that he wants to avoid a government shutdown during a private Tuesday meeting with President Joe Biden and other congressional leaders, according to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

With just four days to go until federal funding partially runs out, congressional leaders emerged from the meeting with the president optimistic they could avoid a shutdown, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters at the Capitol that the meeting focused mainly on keeping the government open, "which I think we all can agree on."

But the White House sitdown also featured an "intense" component focused on Ukraine, Schumer said.