Top congressional Democrats on Thursday pressed Republican leaders to begin bipartisan budget negotiations, warning that federal agencies face a partial shutdown when current funding expires at midnight on Sept. 30. In a joint letter, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries asked Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson to convene a Big Four meeting early next week, calling it “past time” to agree on a path forward. The Democratic leaders demanded clarity on whether the White House plans another rescissions package and urged Republicans to reverse Medicaid cuts enacted in President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” Schumer and Jeffries argued the reductions threaten rural and community hospitals, framing the showdown as a fight over health-care access rather than fiscal brinkmanship. Without either full-year appropriations bills or a stop-gap measure, most federal operations would halt on Oct. 1, disrupting paychecks for troops and shuttering non-essential services, according to the Pentagon and other agencies. The last major shutdown, in 2018, lasted 35 days. Democrats spent the August recess holding events at hospitals and clinics to highlight the legislation’s local impact, while some Republicans signaled reluctance to back a short-term funding bill. Schumer and Jeffries said only a bipartisan agreement can avert another costly suspension of government services.