'Chuck and Nancy' ditch government shutdown meeting with Trump after Twitter attack
Kevin Lamarque/Reuters
- Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer were scheduled to meet Tuesday with President Donald Trump to work on a government funding bill.
- Trump tweeted "I don't see a deal!" on a bill earlier in the day and attacked the two leaders.
- The federal government will shut down if a bill is not passed by December 8.
Top Democratic congressional leaders pulled out of a Tuesday meeting with President Donald Trump after the president attacked them on Twitter.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said they no longer planned to meet with Trump for negotiations on a bill to fund the government. If Trump does not sign a funding bill by December 8, the federal government will enter into a partial shutdown.
"Given that the President doesn't see a deal between Democrats and the White House, we believe the best path forward is to continue negotiating with our Republican counterparts in Congress instead," said a joint statement. "Rather than going to the White House for a show meeting that won't result in an agreement, we've asked Leader McConnell and Speaker Ryan to meet this afternoon."
On Tuesday morning, Trump tweeted that he did not think he could reach an agreement with the Democratic leaders.
"Problem is they want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes," Trump said. "I don't see a deal!"
Pelosi and Schumer said the two sides "don't have any time to waste" and the White House meeting would likely not be productive towards a funding bill.
Democrats control a solid negotiating position on the funding bill since some GOP members could drop off over concerns about federal deficits or new spending. Additionally, since Republicans only hold 52 seats in the Senate, any bill they advance could be filibustered by Democrats.
Given these circumstances, Democrats have been pushing policy goals of their own to be included in the funding bill. The most popular requests are codification of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) immigration program and a stabilization package for the Obamacare individual insurance markets.
Trump and the White House have pushed back on those requests.
Pelosi and Schumer's statement also referenced a tweet from Trump on May 2 in which he said the government "needs a good 'shutdown.'"
"If the President, who already said earlier this year that 'our country needs a good shutdown,' isn't interested in addressing the difficult year end agenda, we'll work with those Republicans who are, as we did in April," said the statement. "We look forward to continuing to work in good faith, as we have been for the last month, with our Republican colleagues in Congress to do just that."
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