Military leaders risk being stranded in the US if the government shuts down.

Pete Hegseth, the defence secretary, last week issued an unusual order requiring those with a rank of brigadier general or above in command positions worldwide to gather at Marine Corps Base Quantico at short notice.

More than 800 general-level officers have been invited to the meeting, held a day before a government shutdown is expected to come into force, which would see federal funding halted.

If government spending is stopped, federal workers, including some pilots, may be furloughed and flights into military bases cut back.

It means four-star generals could face difficulty returning to their posts.

While three-star military officers and below travel by commercial aircraft, the 37 four-star generals and admirals expected to attend the Virginia summit generally travel on private government jets.

“They could get stranded because government pilots will be furloughed and they would normally fly to military bases, which might cut back flight operations if there is a government shutdown,” Bryan Clark, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and a retired US navy submariner, told The Telegraph.

Commercial flights could be booked

Instead, senior commanders will likely have to book commercial flights, which could face delays if the government shuts down as the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) and the Transport Security Administration (TSA) are likely to be short-staffed, he said.

The FAA, which is responsible for air traffic control, has estimated that 16,621 employees of the agency’s 29,644 total staff are set to be furloughed.

Meanwhile, Department of Homeland Security figures estimate 2,987 of the TSA’s 61,475 workers will be out of work.

“All that could cascade into four stars suffering the most as a result of the shutdown,” Mr Clark said.

Donald Trump announced on Sunday that he will be attending the unprecedented gathering, which he described as “just a very nice meeting talking about how well we’re doing militarily”.

“We have some great people coming in, and it is just an ‘esprit de corps’,” he told NBC.

A reason for the meeting was not given, sparking anxiety that a mass firing could be on the cards.

‘Window of vulnerability’

Mr Hegseth is expected to discuss his vision for a “warrior ethos” and military standards, after his department was recently informally renamed “the Department of War”.

Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel and senior adviser at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), said the Virginia meeting was a “bloody nightmare” from an administrative perspective, with high-level security needed to protect so many senior military officials, as well as the president.

Mr Clark added that gathering so many military personnel in one place presents a “window of vulnerability” that America’s adversaries may look to exploit.

“It does introduce a window of vulnerability where you don’t have the A-team running things, so I think that’s something to worry about – that this could be an opportunity that a foreign country is willing to exploit.”

Mr Trump is meeting with congressional leaders on Tuesday afternoon in a last-ditch effort to reach a deal to approve a government spending bill.

The Republican-led House passed a bill to fund the government for seven weeks, but at least seven Democratic votes are needed for the spending bill to pass through the Senate.

Democrats have so far refused to sign off on the bill, demanding Republicans include healthcare provisions and restrictions on the president’s ability to withhold funding as part of any agreement.

Schumer calls for short-term spending bill

Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, is apparently sounding out Democrats about a short-term spending bill to reopen the government for seven to 10 days in the event of a shutdown, according to Axios.

Following his meeting with the president, Mr Schumer warned that patients may die if provisions are not included in the bill to bring down the cost of healthcare premiums and prevent the closure of rural hospitals.

Claiming Mr Trump had reacted to his concerns as if he was hearing about them “for the first time,” Mr Schumer said that people will pay “close to $5,000 more a year on their healthcare premiums if we don’t do anything”.

JD Vance, the vice-president, responded by accusing the Democrats of putting “a gun [to] the American people’s head” by refusing to negotiate.

“We’re not going to let you take the people’s government hostage and then give you everything you want,” he said.

A shutdown occurs when Congress fails to pass funding bills for some or all agencies, which cannot spend money without the approval of lawmakers.

Most federal agencies are funded annually by a dozen appropriations bills drafted each year, which need to be passed by Congress and then signed by the president before the start of the new financial year on Oct 1.

If this is not done, federal workers are furloughed and funding pulled for a raft of government agencies.