Hours ahead of the expiration of government funding, the White House warned that a shutdown would disrupt the presidential transition process, hampering preparations for next month’s handoff to President-elect Donald Trump.
“Transition activities will be restricted,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Friday during a White House briefing. “We’re doing everything to ensure a smooth transition, but the choice to allow a transition to move forward is in the hands of Republicans in Congress.”
Jean-Pierre did not offer specifics on those restrictions. But she said the only transition efforts that would be left untouched by a potential shutdown are those needed to “prevent imminent threats to the safety of human life or the protection of property.”
Congressional Republicans are scrambling to pass a spending bill before funding runs out later tonight, after Trump tanked a bipartisan agreement earlier this week that would have kept the government open through March.
Federal agencies began notifying employees at noon on Friday that they may be put on furlough if the government does shut down, Jean-Pierre said.
But the White House has largely stayed out of efforts to solve the funding crisis, blaming Republicans for creating the problem and brushing off questions over whether President Joe Biden should play a more public role in preparing Americans for the possibility of a shutdown.
“This is something that Republicans should own here,” Jean-Pierre said. “This is not for the president to fix. This is not for us to fix.”
Biden did speak on Friday with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and top House Democrat Hakeem Jeffries, Jean-Pierre said. But she did not offer any details on the president’s message to the Democratic congressional leaders.