US Vice President Jay DeVance warned on Monday that the United States is heading towards a federal government shutdown after failed negotiations with the Democratic opposition and the deadline approaching Tuesday night.

Following a White House meeting between President Donald Trump and Democratic congressional leaders, DeVance condemned what he described to reporters as a “gun pointed by Democrats at the heads of Americans” through their demands to avoid the shutdown.

In contrast, Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said after the meeting that there are “major differences” with Republicans to avoid a federal government shutdown before the Tuesday night deadline. Schumer said, “We have made some proposals to the president (…) ultimately, he will make the decisions.”

Meanwhile, House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said there are still “significant and important differences” between the two sides to avoid a “shutdown.”

Before the meeting, the US president criticized the Democrats, emphasizing that they need to “do some things because their ideas are not very good,” and said these ideas are “very bad for our country.”

White House spokeswoman Caroline Leavitt told Fox News that the president is giving “Democratic leaders a last chance to be reasonable” through this meeting.

She added, “It is not the time to try to score political points against Donald Trump.”

On Monday morning, Jeffries told reporters in Congress that Democrats are “ready” to find a solution and reach a budget agreement to avoid federal agency shutdowns, but he noted that the agreement must “meet Americans’ needs regarding their health, security, and economic well-being.”

Without congressional approval of legislation ensuring funding for federal agencies before midnight Tuesday, the government will face a shutdown that could plunge Washington into a new political crisis.

The shutdown will halt non-essential operations, leave hundreds of thousands of civilian employees temporarily unpaid, and disrupt many social safety net benefits.

Usually, both Republicans and Democrats seek to avoid such shutdowns, each blaming the other party.

But with about 36 hours remaining, both parties insist on their positions amid increasing shutdown risks.

The White House threatens to lay off large numbers of civilian employees instead of the usual approach of suspending their pay until an agreement is reached.

Republicans proposed extending current funding until late November while negotiating a longer-term spending plan.

However, Democrats, who do not hold a majority in either the House or Senate, are trying to extract some concessions, especially since passing budget legislation requires 60 votes out of 100 in the Senate.

The party seeks to restore hundreds of billions of dollars in funding for healthcare, especially the private health insurance program “Obamacare” for low-income families, which the Trump administration plans to eliminate under the budget approved in July.