As Congress barreled towards a government shutdown Tuesday evening, Gov. Janet Mills, former Gov. Paul LePage and various Maine candidates offered a glimpse into the polarizing nature of the debate on a short-term spending deal.

The Republican-controlled Senate was expected to vote around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday on competing plans from the GOP and Democrats to avert a shutdown that would begin Wednesday and affect Maine and federal employees in various ways. Shutdown odds were high after President Donald Trump’s meeting Monday with top lawmakers yielded no breakthrough.

The chief divide remained over Democrats wanting to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire at the end of the year and to reverse Medicaid cuts included in Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” that he signed in July.

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