WASHINGTON (AP) — Leaders from both Democratic and Republican parties in Congress are set to meet with President Donald Trump at the White House on Monday. This meeting is a last-ditch effort to prevent a government shutdown, but both sides remain firmly rooted in their positions, showing little willingness to compromise.

Should Congress fail to pass funding legislation that Trump signs by Tuesday night, numerous government offices across the country will be temporarily closed, and nonexempt federal employees will be furloughed, further straining the workers and the U.S. economy.

Republicans are challenging Democrats to oppose a bill that would maintain government funding largely at existing levels, while Democrats remain steadfast. They are leveraging their position to push for congressional action on extending health care benefits.

“The meeting is a first step, but only a first step. We need a serious negotiation,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday during NBC’s “Meet the Press.”

Trump has shown little inclination toward accommodating Democrats’ demands on health care, though he agreed to Monday’s meeting with Schumer, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, House Speaker Mike Johnson, and House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries. The Republican president has continually expressed his expectation for a government shutdown to occur this week.

“If it has to shut down, it’ll have to shut down,” Trump said Friday. “But they’re the ones that are shutting down government.”

The Trump administration has sought to pressure Democratic lawmakers to back down from their demands by warning them that federal employees could face permanent layoffs if a funding gap occurs.

“Chuck Schumer said a few months ago that a government shutdown would be chaotic, harmful and painful. He’s right, and that’s why we shouldn’t do it,” Thune, a South Dakota Republican, said Sunday on “Meet the Press.”

Still, Democrats argued Trump’s agreement to hold a meeting shows he’s feeling the pressure to negotiate. They say that because Republicans control the White House and Congress, Americans will mostly blame them for any government shutdown.

But to hold on to their negotiating leverage, Senate Democrats will likely have to vote against a bill to temporarily extend government funding on Tuesday, just hours before a shutdown — an uncomfortable position for a party that has long denounced shutdowns as pointless and destructive.

The bill has already passed the Republican-controlled House and would keep the government funded for seven more weeks while Congress works on annual spending legislation.

Any legislation to fund the government will need support from at least 60 senators. That means that at least eight Democrats would have to vote for the short-term funding bill, because Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky is expected to vote against it.

During the last potential government shutdown in March, Schumer and nine other Democrats voted to break a filibuster and allow a Republican-led funding bill to advance to a final vote. The New York Democrat faced fierce backlash from many in his own party for that decision, with some even calling for him to step down as Democratic leader.

This time, Schumer appears resolute.

“We’re hearing from the American people that they need help on health care and as for these massive layoffs, guess what? Simple one-sentence answer: They’re doing it anyway,” he said.

Democrats are pushing for an extension to Affordable Care Act tax credits that have subsidized health insurance for millions of people since the COVID-19 pandemic. The credits, which are designed to expand coverage for low- and middle-income people, are set to expire at the end of the year.

Some Republicans are open to extending the tax credits but want changes. Thune said Sunday that the program is “desperately in need of reform” and Republicans want to address “waste, fraud and abuse.” He has pressed Democrats to vote for the funding bill and take up the debate on tax credits later.

It remains to be seen whether the White House meeting will help or hurt the chances for a resolution. Negotiations between Trump and Democratic congressional leaders have rarely gone well, and Trump has had little contact with the opposing party during his second term.

The most recent negotiation in August between Schumer and the president to speed the pace of Senate confirmation votes for administration officials ended with Trump telling Schumer to “go to hell” in a social media post.

Trump also abruptly canceled a meeting that was planned with congressional leaders last week, calling Democrats’ demands “unserious and ridiculous.”

Schumer argued that the White House coming back to reschedule a meeting for Monday showed that “they felt the heat.”