Top Democratic leaders in Congress have abruptly pulled out of a planned meeting with President Donald Trump after he called them out on Twitter.
Trump tweeted early Tuesday that “I don’t see a deal!” with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi.
Meeting with “Chuck and Nancy” today about keeping government open and working. Problem is they want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes. I don’t see a deal!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 28, 2017
Schumer and Pelosi fired back with a statement asking for talks with top GOP leaders in Congress.
They said, “given that the president doesn’t see a deal between Democrats and the White House, we believe the best path forward is to continue negotiating with our Republican counterparts in Congress instead.”
Congress faces a Dec. 8 deadline to pass stopgap legislation to keep the government open.
They added, “we don’t have any time to waste.”
The top Republicans in Congress say they’re heading to the White House Tuesday afternoon to meet with President Donald Trump even though top Democrats have backed out of the meeting.
House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a joint statement that Democrats are “putting government operations, particularly resources for our men and women on the battlefield, at great risk by pulling these antics.”
Ryan and McConnell said that if Democrats want to reach an agreement, they will attend the White House meeting.
Trump is searching for a win in Congress on his tax bill, which is expected to face a Senate vote later this week.
The White House says it is “disappointing” that congressional Democratic leaders are pulling out of a meeting with President Donald Trump.
White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders says Trump’s invitation for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi to join Republican leaders at the White House on Tuesday still stands.
Sanders says the president “encourages them to put aside their pettiness, stop the political grandstanding, show up and get to work.”
Trump’s meeting with Republican leaders will go on as scheduled, as they discuss critical year end issues like funding the government, immigration policy, and tax reform.
Says Sanders: “If the Democrats believe the American people deserve action on these critical year-end issues as we do, they should attend.”
The Associated Press contributed to this article.