Schumer and Pelosi bail on White House meeting after Trump attacks them on Twitter


After President Trump tweeted Tuesday morning that he didn't "see a deal" with congressional Democrats to avoid a government shutdown, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) pulled out of a planned meeting at the White House. The Democratic leaders said in a statement that "we believe the best path forward is to continue negotiating with our Republican counterparts in Congress instead." In his Tuesday morning tweet, the president had attacked "Chuck and Nancy," who he said were in favor of "illegal immigrants flooding into our country" and wanted to "substantially RAISE taxes."
Trump shocked his colleagues by spontaneously negotiating a three-month extension on the federal debt ceiling with Schumer and Pelosi in September, much to the chagrin of congressional Republicans like Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who called the deal "ridiculous" and "unworkable." But although Schumer and Pelosi seemed to be building some rapport with the president after the debt ceiling extension and a tentative agreement in September to "fix" the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the White House later released a list of hard-line immigration policies that it wanted as a precondition to a DACA deal, which Democratic leadership said were "far beyond what is reasonable." Congressional Democrats are expected to push for protections for these immigrants — who came to the U.S. illegally as children — in debt ceiling negotiations, which will be a tough sell for many conservatives in Congress.
Schumer and Pelosi are now pinning their hopes of avoiding a shutdown on the deal-making prowess of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan. But the House speaker suggested he wouldn't play ball with the meeting no-shows either. Kelly O'Meara Morales
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Kelly O'Meara Morales is a staff writer at The Week. He graduated from Sarah Lawrence College and studied Middle Eastern history and nonfiction writing amongst other esoteric subjects. When not compulsively checking Twitter, he writes and records music, subsists on tacos, and watches basketball.
-
10 concert tours to see this upcoming fall
The Week Recommends Get ready for pumpkin spice season with concerts from big-name artists
-
How to put student loan payments on pause
The Explainer If you are starting to worry about missing payments, deferment and forbearance can help
-
Is Kash Patel’s fate sealed after Kirk shooting missteps?
TODAY'S BIG QUESTION The FBI’s bungled response in the immediate aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting has director Kash Patel in the hot seat
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to Trump
Speed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raids
Speed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raid
Speed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'
Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearing
Speed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mount
Speed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own list
speed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battle
Speed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants