Moments after President Donald Trump tweeted that Democrats want to shut down the government, the House minority whip rejected that claim Thursday but said his party will not be held "hostage" on a crucial funding bill.

@realDonaldTrump: The Democrats want to shut government if we don't bail out Puerto Rico and give billions to their insurance companies for OCare failure. NO!

Congress is inching closer to a deal to avoid shutting down the government by late Friday.



"I talked with [House Majority Leader Kevin] McCarthy yesterday," No. 2 Democrat leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland told CNBC's "Squawk Box." "We want to cooperate, but we're not going to be put in hostage."

The budget conflict comes as Democrats raise concerns about Trump's plan to spend billions to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Trump indicated earlier this week he is willing to back away from his demand that the bill help fund the wall.

Many policymakers are nervous about a repeat of 2013, when the government was shuttered for 17 days.

—Reuters contributed to this report.