Hello from CNN I'm Joe Beck with the five things you need to know for Wednesday

September 20th. A government shut down would damage communities, the economy and

national security.

That's the warning from the White House this morning, as lawmakers struggle to agree on a spending

plan.

The deadline to pass a budget is the end of next week, But if that doesn't happen, the Biden administration

says active service members and federal law enforcement would be forced to work without pay.

And FEMA's already struggling disaster relief fund could be depleted.

The White House also estimates 10,000 children would lose access to Head Start programs across the country,

while air traffic controllers and TSA officers would also have to work without pay, threatening

travel delays.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy does have a proposal for a temporary spending bill which could

buy Congress more time, but right now he doesn't appear to have the support to pass it.

Meanwhile, some Republicans and Democrats are considering teaming up on a plan to fund the government if McCarthy and GOP leaders fail.

The US Attorney General is taking the hot seat today, and CNN has learned some of what Merrick

Garland plans to tell Republican lawmakers who were accusing him of politicizing the Justice Department.

CNN Zachary Cohen has more.

This is about as direct as we've ever heard Merrick Garland.

He's going to hit back at his critics and primarily

congressional Republicans, House Republicans, who have criticized him for just about everything

so far in their tenure as the majority and look, he's going to make clear to them that he's not

the president's lawyer he's not Congress his prosecutor in fact this one excerpt really

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