President Trump called Democratic leaders “all talk” and “no action” and said they were boosting illegal immigrants and risking national security after they abruptly canceled a bipartisan meeting with him Tuesday.
The White House left empty chairs at the table for Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, who were no-shows as Mr. Trump met with congressional leaders to try to figure out a path forward on government funding.
Mr. Trump said he will feel free to blame Democrats for a shutdown, and presented a unified front with GOP leaders, who said they were stunned Democrats would skip a bipartisan meeting with the country’s chief executive.
“They’ve been all talk, they’ve been no action. Now it’s even worse, it’s not even talk,” Mr. Trump said.
The two Democrats were upset by a Trump tweet Tuesday morning where the president said given Democrats’ high demands, he didn’t see that a deal was possible. Mr. Schumer then called him a “destructive force” in the negotiations and he and Mrs. Pelosi said they were done talking with Mr. Trump, and would instead negotiate only with Mr. McConnell and Mr. Ryan.
They were looking to isolate Mr. Trump and further drive a wedge between pro-Trump forces and congressional GOP leaders, but the Republicans rejected the attempt.
“Only one person in America can sign a bill into law and that’s the president of the United States,” Mr. McConnell said. “I think the Democratic leaders in the House and Senate need to understand the way the government works. The administration has to be a part of the ultimate negotiation of what the spending level.”
Mr. Schumer had insisted the sides were “close” to a deal on year-end funding, granting legal status to illegal immigrant Dreamers and a host of other deadlines.
But he didn’t provide evidence for those claims, and Mr. Trump said they were in fact “way, way far away” from an agreement, saying deep divides still exist on immigration and over how to boost funding for the military.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
• S.A. Miller can be reached at smiller@washingtontimes.com.
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