Trump says meeting with Democratic leaders wouldn’t be “productive” as shutdown deadline nears

Washington — President Trump suggested Tuesday that he won’t meet with Democratic leaders in Congress unless they “become realistic” in their demands during the ongoing fight over funding the government, with a deadline of Oct. 1 quickly approaching.

Early Tuesday morning, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries confirmed that a meeting was set to take place this week in the Oval Office. But in a post on Truth Social soon after, the president seemed to call off the gathering.

“After reviewing the details of the unserious and ridiculous demands being made by the Minority Radical Left Democrats in return for their Votes to keep our thriving Country open, I have decided that no meeting with their Congressional Leaders could possibly be productive,” Mr. Trump said.

Last week, the House approved a measure to keep the government funded until Nov. 21, along with funds for additional security for lawmakers and other officials in the wake of conservative activist Charlie Kirk’s assassination. Democrats put forward their own proposal, which would extend government funding until Oct. 31 and boost security funding. The Democrats’ proposal also includes a permanent extension of enhanced tax credits for Americans who purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, and a clawback of the some of the policies put in place by Mr. Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” earlier this year. 

Both proposals fell short in the Senate last Friday, raising fears that government funding will lapse at the end of the month.

Congress is now in recess until next week, when the Senate will return with just days to act. House GOP leaders extended the lower chamber’s break past the Oct. 1 deadline to pressure the Senate to adopt their bill.

Meanwhile, Schumer and Jeffries have repeatedly asked GOP leaders to negotiate with them on a short-term funding extension. In a letter to Mr. Trump over the weekend, Schumer and Jeffries demanded a meeting with the president, saying Democrats would not support a “dirty spending bill” that does not address their health care priorities. Earlier Tuesday, the Democrats announced that following “weeks of Republican stonewalling in Congress, President Trump has agreed to meet this week in the Oval Office.”

In his Truth Social post, the president railed against the Democratic proposal to extend government funding, which would roll back cuts to Medicaid, and restore funding for public radio and TV stations that was cut earlier this year in a rescissions package. He said “I look forward to meeting with them if they get serious about the future of our Nation.” 

“To the Leaders of the Democrat Party, the ball is in your court. I look forward to meeting with you when you become realistic about the things that our Country stands for,” he said. “DO THE RIGHT THING!”