WASHINGTON

The US House minority leader on Monday vowed that Democrats would work with Republicans to avert a looming government shutdown, but rejected what he called partisan Republican efforts to cut health care.

“We are ready, we are willing, we are able to find a bipartisan path forward and reach a spending agreement that actually keeps the government open but meets the needs of the American people in terms of their health, their safety, and their economic well-being,” Hakeem Jeffries told reporters at the Capitol.

He stressed that Democrats’ priority is to lower the cost of living and prevent “tens of millions of Americans” from facing higher health care costs, as prices of government-supported health care plans could skyrocket as much as 90% if an extension to the support is not approved.

“What we will not do is support a partisan Republican spending bill that continues to gut the health care of the American people,” said Jeffries.

Federal funding is set to expire after midnight Tuesday, the shutdown deadline. Without a deal, nonessential government services will be suspended, hundreds of thousands of federal workers will be furloughed without pay, and others will work without pay until funding is restored.

But in a shift from previous looming shutdowns, Trump is threatening to not just furlough federal workers, but fire them outright.

“We are going to cut a lot of the people that ... we're able to cut on a permanent basis,” Trump told NBC News.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican, said the prospect of a government shutdown this week is “totally up to the Democrats.”

"The ball is in their court. There is a bill sitting at the desk in the Senate right now. We can pick it up today and pass it," he told NBC News on Sunday.

Democrats counter that with the Republicans enjoying a majority in both houses of Congress, if they fail to fund the government, a shutdown belongs to Republicans.