President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE, on Thursday, expressed confidence lawmakers will reach a deal to avert a government shutdown during an Oval Office meeting with congressional leaders.

“We're all here today as a very friendly, well-unified group," Trump told reporters. "It's a well knit together group of people. And we hope that we're going to make some great progress for our country. I think that will happen and we'll appreciate it very much."

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi Nancy PelosiPelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare House lawmakers reach deal to avert shutdown Centrist Democrats 'strongly considering' discharge petition on GOP PPP bill MORE (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer Chuck SchumerSenate Democrats introduce legislation to probe politicization of pandemic response Schumer interrupted during live briefing by heckler: 'Stop lying to the people' Jacobin editor: Primarying Schumer would force him to fight Trump's SCOTUS nominee MORE (D-N.Y.) joined their Republican counterparts at the White House, one week after they pulled out of a meeting designed to resolve the contentious year-end spending fight.

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The cancellation set off a partisan tiff that complicated the spending talks. Trump last Wednesday sat between two empty chairs intended for Schumer and Pelosi and tore into the Democratic leaders during the meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Addison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellPelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Senate GOP aims to confirm Trump court pick by Oct. 29: report Trump argues full Supreme Court needed to settle potential election disputes MORE (R-Ky.) and Speaker Paul Ryan Paul Davis RyanKenosha will be a good bellwether in 2020 At indoor rally, Pence says election runs through Wisconsin Juan Williams: Breaking down the debates MORE (R-Wis.).

But on Thursday, the leaders were all smiles sitting on sofas in front of Trump and Vice President Pence inside the Oval Office.

“We are here in the spirit of, ‘let’s get it done,’ ” Schumer said.

Pelosi said she hoped to “make progress” on a funding deal as well as on funding to fight opioid addiction, money for veterans and a reauthorization of the expired child health insurance program.

McConnell expressed hope the leaders could “reach a bipartisan agreement to finish out the year.”

Trump has previously said a government shutdown "could happen" and indicated he would blame Democrats because of their demands on immigration.

Democratic leaders did not bring up the topic during their public remarks.

Congress must pass a government funding bill before Friday to avoid a shutdown.

The House is set to pass a stopgap spending bill to avert a shutdown and buy more time for negotiations on a broader deal.

Pelosi said earlier Thursday that Democrats will oppose the bill, putting the onus on GOP leaders to cobble together a majority on their own.

A number of hot-button issues stand in the way of an agreement. Democrats are demanding a legislative fix for young immigrants who benefit from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, an Obama-era initiative Trump scrapped in September.

Several key Democrats have threatened to withhold their votes from a spending bill if the language is not included.

Lawmakers are also debating a proposal to pass a short-term spending bill while funding the Pentagon for a full year.

Defense Secretary James Mattis James Norman MattisBiden courts veterans amid fallout from Trump military controversies Trump says he wanted to take out Syria's Assad but Mattis opposed it Gary Cohn: 'I haven't made up my mind' on vote for president in November MORE also attended the meeting with Trump and congressional leaders. After the photo op, Trump took the group into the Situation Room of the White House to receive an update from Mattis.

This story was updated at 3:56 p.m.