5 very real scenarios that could lead to a government shutdown

Sometime in the next month, Congress could come to the brink of shutting down the government.

Congress has to pass some sort of spending bill by Dec. 8 to keep the lights on, but they may just kick the can down the road until Christmas.

“I believe the odds are better than 50 percent,” said Steve Bell, a former GOP budget aide now with the Bipartisan Policy Institute.

There are just too many things that could go wrong: a contentious tax debate; intractable policy fights over immigration, health care and spending; and an unpredictable president who, on Tuesday morning, signaled he's not willing to compromise with Democrats. Democratic leaders returned fire by canceling their negotiating visit to the White House at the last minute.

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