"It's pretty clear we're shutting down": Democrats brace for impact

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 Hill this week trying to cajole Republicans to negotiate a government spending deal that renews expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies.House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said down with President Trump at the White House on Monday, but with few results to show for it.Senate Democrats are refusing to lend their votes to a Republican measure that would keep the government funded until November but without addressing the ACA subsidies.What we're hearing: Jeffries told his members at Tuesday's meeting that he hasn't heard from the White House him since his sit-down with Trump, according to multiple sources familiar with his remarks.The Democratic leader said "his expectation" is that Senate Democrats will vote down Republicans' latest attempt to pass their stopgap spending bill this afternoon, according to one of the sources.After that, he said, there will "likely be some reengagement" from Republicans before the midnight shutdown deadline.One House Democrat, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the hope is that the vote will make Republicans "realize we're not f*cking around."Yes, but: Jeffries' members are pessimistic about a pre-shutdown resolution coming to fruition. "I don't have confidence in Republican leadership, period," said the lawmaker who spoke on the condition of anonymity.Said a second House Democrat who spoke anonymously: "It's pretty clear we're shutting down. I think everyone's just preparing for what that actually means.""What that means for staff, what that means for agencies and how we're going to be communicating to people," the lawmaker added.Between the lines: Many House Democrats, asked about the odds of a shutdown, pointed to an AI-generated deepfake video Trump posted online Monday that depicted Jeffries wearing a sombrero."I mean, did you see what Trump posted yesterday? Doesn't seem like he's interested in doing anything to keep the government open," said Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.)."It is an indication that these are not serious people," said the first House Democrat who spoke anonymously.Zoom out: This would be the first government shutdown since 2019. Democrats and Republicans have both expressed confidence they can win out politically from a shutdown.Democrats are facing demands from their grassroots base to play hardball with Trump and refuse to budge for anything less than a total capitulation from the White House.The bottom line: Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), asked if a shutdown will happen tonight, told Axios, "One might think that."