Democrats knock Trump for ‘running away from negotiating table’ after meeting cancellation
Democratic leaders on Tuesday criticized President Trump for canceling their planned meeting to prevent a governemnt shutdown next week, accusing the White House of “running away from the negotiating table,” in the words of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
“Trump is running away from the negotiating table before he even gets there,” Schumer said in a statement. “While Americans face rising costs and a Republican healthcare crisis, Trump would rather throw a tantrum than do his job. Democrats are ready to work to avoid a shutdown — Trump and Republicans are holding America hostage. Donald Trump will own the shutdown.”
“Happy New Year, Mr. President,” Schumer added in a social media post, referring to Rosh Hashanah. “When you’re finished ranting, we can sit down and discuss health care.”
The government will shut down on Wednesday without a new funding deal. The GOP-controlled House has passed a continuing resolution that would fund the government through the firs three weeks of November, but it does not have the 60 votes necessary to get through the Senate without more Democratic support.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) also panned the president for backing out of the meeting and attempted to pin blame for a potential shutdown on Republicans.
“Trump Always Chickens Out,” Jeffries wrote on X. “Donald Trump just cancelled a high stakes meeting in the Oval Office with myself and Leader Schumer. “
“The extremists want to shut down the government because they are unwilling to address the Republican healthcare crisis that is devastating America,” he added.
The three leaders were set to meet alongside Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) at the White House on Thursday.
Trump initially agreed to the meeting after Schumer and Jeffries called for it. In his statement on Truth Social on Tuesday, Trump said Democrats would need to meet his demands for the meeting to go forward.
Johnson and Thune had declined in recent weeks to discuss funding with the two Democratic leaders, having argued that there is nothing to negotiate given that the funding bill being proposed is a “clean” seven-week stopgap measure with the intent of giving appropriators more time to hammer out a full-year deal.
According to a GOP source, Johnson and Thune talked to Trump about the “clean” continuing resolution on Monday night after news of the meeting emerged and laid out what Democrats were proposing.
Among the items in the Democratic CR are a permanent extension of the Affordable Care Act subsidies, the overturning of the GOP’s Medicaid cuts via the “big, beautiful bill” and restoration of rescissions cuts.
Republicans have labeled those demands a non-starter in negotiations.
“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,” Trump posted on TruthSocial to nix the meeting.
“I look forward to meeting with them if they get serious about the future of our Nation. We must keep the Government open, and legislate like true Patriots rather than hold American Citizens hostage, knowing that they want our now thriving Country closed. I’ll be happy to meet with them if they agree to the Principles in this Letter,” Trump added.
Emily Brooks contributed.