(MCT) — WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Tuesday pressured Republicans to prevent “meat cleaver” spending cuts from slashing crucial federal services, effectively starting the clock on the final scramble to stave off automatic spending cuts due to hit next week.

Standing with uniformed police and firefighters at the White House, Obama issued grave warnings about the effect of the across-the-board cuts on such public servants—cuts he and Congress approved in 2011 as a mechanism to force compromise on debt and deficit reduction.