Last Tuesday, President Trump was supposed to meet with Congressional Democrats Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY). That meeting was canceled because hours before they were scheduled to meet, President Trump sent out this tweet:
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
Instead of heading to the Oval Office, Schumer and Pelosi issued a statement which read:
“Rather than going to the White House for a show meeting that won’t result in an agreement, we’ve asked (Senate Majority Leader Mitch) McConnell and (House Speaker Paul) Ryan to meet this afternoon.”
Now, however, Trump desperately needs the two top Democrats, so he’s again invited them to a meeting on Thursday, one day before a government shutdown will begin should a bipartisan agreement not be reached. Pelosi and Schumer say they’ll be glad to meet with Trump and noted in a written statement:
“We’re glad the White House has reached out and asked for a second meeting. We hope the President will go into this meeting with an open mind, rather than deciding that an agreement can’t be reached beforehand.”
There’s certainly no shortage of issues yet to be resolved between Congress and the White House. For example: In the past, Trump has tried to tie any deal on the DREAM Act to funding for his long-promised wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. Democrats have said they will not allocate federal money for a wall that during the campaign Trump insisted Mexico would fund.
Other items which could be stumbling blocks when Pelosi and Schumer meet with Trump on Thursday include increased military appropriations, money for the opioid crisis, health insurance, and spending on infrastructure, which the president promised on the campaign trail but has failed to deliver on.
With a shutdown now looming, will either side be willing to compromise in order to assure the government remains open? Or will Trump fire off another tweet hours before the meeting and shoot himself in the foot yet again?
