Schumer, Pelosi Cancel Meeting With Trump After He Says He Doesn’t ‘See A Deal’

WASHINGTON ― Democratic leaders in Congress bailed on a meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday just hours before it was set to begin, saying it would only be a “show meeting that won’t result in an agreement” and they would be better served negotiating with their Republican counterparts. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) were scheduled to go to the White House on Tuesday afternoon to negotiate a spending package to avert a government shutdown. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) were also set to attend the meeting with Trump.

But after Trump tweeted that he didn’t “see a deal” coming together as a result of the meeting with Democrats, Schumer and Pelosi said they would negotiate with McConnell and Ryan instead, without the president. They said they have requested a meeting with McConnell and Ryan for Tuesday afternoon.

“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. ... 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,” the Democratic leaders said in a joint statement.

They suggested the president couldn’t be trusted to operate in good faith to find an agreement and avert a 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,” Schumer and Pelosi said. “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.”