Johnson Says "We're Going To Prevent Shutdown" Ahead Of White House Meeting

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has expressed confidence that Congress will avert a government shutdown on Saturday ahead a key White House meeting with President Biden and the four leaders of Congress.

• Johnson told Fox News: "We're going to prevent the shutdown. We're working on it."
• According to Reuters, Biden said ahead of the meeting: "Need to find solution on funding government, think we can do that... [a] shutdown would damage the economy."
• Biden also hinted at Ukraine funding, the other major item on the agenda today: "Need to fund Ukraine. situation is dire."
• With a partial government shutdown set to occur a midnight Friday, Congressional leaders will likely need to release FY2024 legislation today to provide enough time for Congress to act. If the legislation isn't forthcoming today, another short time funding patch (Continuing Resolution) will be required to punt the deadline into March.
• Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Speaker Johnson struck a deal on topline spending numbers in January, but as has been the case throughout this Congress, the speaker must balance bipartisan agreements with a hardline conservative faction in the House.
• More analysis in today's edition of theMNI US Daily Brief.