Tuesday at a press conference on Capitol Hill, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) explained his decision to pull out of a meeting with President Donald Trump, after he tweeted this morning that he did not “see a deal” to stop a government shutdown.
Schumer said, “As I said, there are serious issues in front of us. We don’t have time to waste. We don’t have games to play. We need to fund the military. We need to protect millions of American pensions, fund scientific research and student loans. We need to rebuild in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands and California. And we need to protect the DREAMers. If the president reverses course and decides he wants to be a constructive force, working with both sides to forge a bipartisan deal, we’re happy to meet with him anytime, anywhere, any place.”
He added, “But as long as he remains a destructive force, it would be a waste of everyone’s time to continue working with someone who clearly has no interest in coming to an agreement. We hope the president, in order to avoid this calamity, will change his mind. The President and our Republican friends run the House and Senate. They have a responsibility, a responsibility not to let the government run out of funds. We’re willing to work with them, but they have to do it in a bipartisan way.”
(h/t Grabien)
Follow Pam Key on Twitter @pamkeyNEN
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