House Democrats emerged from a closed-door meeting Tuesday talking more in terms of what to do if the government shuts down than about how to prevent the shutdown itself.

Why it matters: Not only are the two parties far apart in their positions on government funding with fewer than 10 hours to go until the shutdown deadline — they're not even really negotiating, lawmakers say. • "We're closer to having negotiations with the Martians than we are with the White House." Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) told Axios coming out of Tuesday's meeting. • "If Republicans are insistent on shutting down the government, then a big thing of what we need to do is prepare our constituents, try to minimize this damage," said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

Driving the news: Democrats are on Capitol

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