Congressional leaders are facing the possibility of a government shutdown in December as a clash of what to do with those covered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program rages, Politico is reporting.

Conservatives in the House don't want to pile a fix for the Dreamers into a year-end spending bill, according to Politico. Instead, they are looking to separate the two and push immigration negotiation into next year. In doing so, they hope to increase their leverage, according to the website

Both House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., and the White House believe that plan to be reasonable.

"We do not want DACA on the (spending) bill," said House Freedom Caucus leader Jim Jordan, R-Ohio.

But liberal Democrats are threatening to not vote for the spending bill if it doesn't provide a pathway to citizenship for those undocumented immigrants who came into the U.S. as minors.

And Democrats are aware GOP lawmakers need their votes to keep the government funded past the Dec. 8 deadline, Politico said.

"We want a clean Dream Act," said Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Ill. "That is what it's going to take for me and others to sign on."

GOP sources tell Politico they believe Republicans may have to address DACA before 2018 begins. They fear if the government closes even in part because of Democrats, Republicans will end up being blamed by voters.

And they are being pushed by some moderate GOP lawmakers, Politico reported.

"I want to see it done by the end of the year," said Rep. Carlos Curbelo, R-Fla., "We don't want this to spill into next year, No. 1, that means more drama here. It means a lot of worried young people and a lot of anxiety."

President Donald Trump announced in September he was ending the DACA program, The Hill noted. However, he gave Congress six months to develop a plan to deal with those already covered.