Democratic leaders abruptly pulled out of a planned meeting at the White House with President Trump after he tweeted earlier Tuesday that he didn’t “see a deal” to avoid a government 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,” House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in 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 [Mitch] McConnell [(R-Ky.)] and Speaker [Paul] Ryan [(R-Wis.)] to meet this afternoon. We don’t have any time to waste in addressing the issues that confront us, so we’re going to continue to negotiate with Republican leaders who may be interested in reaching a bipartisan agreement,” Pelosi and Schumer added.
Trump, Schumer and Pelosi were expected to meet Tuesday afternoon with Ryan and McConnell to discuss funding the government beyond next Friday, Dec. 8, when the current funding deal expires.
Meeting with “Chuck and Nancy” today about keeping government open and working. Problem is they want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes. I don’t see a deal!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2017
