Democratic Congressional leaders refused to even sit through a briefing from Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen on Wednesday at the White House.
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy revealed the details with reporters after the meeting, which took place at the Situation Room with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“We never did get through the complete briefing from the Secretary of Homeland, which we were concerned about,” McCarthy said outside the White House, adding that he was “disappointed.”
“They really didn’t want to hear it,” McCarthy said, claiming that Schumer interrupted Nielsen’s briefing before it was finished.
House Majority Whip Steve Scalise confirmed McCarthy’s account of the meeting.
McCarthy said that the president asked Congressional leaders to return on Friday after the House leadership races were complete, suggesting that Pelosi was waiting to make a deal until she became Speaker.
Pelosi and Schumer exited the meeting declaring that Democrats would present legislation later in the week to re-open the rest of the government except for the Department of Homeland Security.