Dec. 4 (UPI) — The top two Democrats in Congress agreed again Monday to an end-of-the-year meeting with President Donald Trump, a week after a tweet of his derailed their first attempt.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi were supposed to meet with Trump last week, but decided not to attend after a tweet in which the president said he didn’t “see a deal” on multiple issues.
“Problem is they want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes,” Trump’s tweet said.
Monday, the meeting was put back on the schedule for Thursday.
“We’re glad the White House has reached out and asked for a second meeting,” Pelosi and Schumer said in a joint statement. “We hope the president will go into this meeting with an open mind, rather than deciding that an agreement can’t be reached beforehand.”
Last week’s meeting was held without Schumer and Pelosi and empty chairs on each side of the president included only their name tags. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan, who both attended the meeting, are also expected at Thursday’s.
One of the main issues at the gathering could be avoiding a government shutdown, as it occurs the day before a deadline to fund the government.
“As negotiations with our Republican counterparts continue, we are hopeful the president will be open to an agreement to address the urgent needs of the American people and keep government open,” Pelosi and Schumer wrote.
It will take bi-partisan support of 60 votes for spending bills to pass in Senate, where Republicans have 52 members.
House and Senate leadership favor passing a two-week short-term spending bill before the holiday break.
“We need to reach a budget agreement that equally boosts funds for our military and key priorities here at home including the opioid crisis, pension plans and rural infrastructure,” the Democratic leaders’ statement said. “We have to provide funding for community health centers and CHIP, as well as relief for the millions of Americans still reeling from natural disasters. And we must also come together on a bipartisan deal to pass the DREAM Act along with tough border security measures. There is a bipartisan path forward on all of these items.”
McConnell told ABC News Sunday that it’s “a ridiculous idea” to tie the funding bill to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
“There is no crisis,” he said. “The president has given us until March to address the issue of undocumented children who came into the country … through no choice of their own, and are in a kind of difficult spot. But there’s no emergency.”
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