President Donald Trump agreed to and then — in less than a day— cancelled a Thursday meeting that he was going to have with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) in order to discuss government funding ahead of the looming deadline.
“After reviewing the details of the unserious and ridiculous demands being made by the Minority Radical Left Democrats in return for their Votes to keep our thriving Country open, I have decided that no meeting with their Congressional Leaders could possibly be productive,” President Trump wrote in a lengthy Truth Social post.
The federal government will shut down starting Oct. 1 unless congressional Republicans and the White House can get at least some Senate Democrats onboard to vote with them on a continuing resolution (CR). The two parties have put forward competing CRs, with Democrats demanding an extension of the Obamacare subsidies to avoid health care premium increases for millions of Americans and an end to the Trump administration’s practice of refusing to spend congressionally appropriated funds, likely violating the Impoundment Control Act.
With a week remaining until the deadline, President Trump is seemingly either unaware that his party lacks the votes in the Senate to keep the government open or wants a shutdown he can try and blame on congressional Democrats.
“I look forward to meeting with you when you become realistic about the things that our Country stands for,” Trump continued in his Truth Social post after claiming, falsely, that Democrats are “threatening to shut down the Government of the United States” for a list of demands, which Trump says includes “dead people on the Medicaid roles” and “Transgender operations for everybody (sic).”
In reality, Democrats have remained steadfast in their demand to extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of 2025, in exchange for their votes.
In the CR they put out, they have also included provisions around reversing massive Medicaid cuts Republicans enacted in the so-called “big, beautiful” bill, restoring public-broadcasting funds that Republicans have eliminated through a rescissions package and other provisions that would make sure that the White House can’t engage in impoundments and pocket rescissions and that congressional Republicans can’t push through rescissions packages without needing 60 votes in the Senate.
Those final asks — around funding — would require agreement from the Trump administration, not just Senate Republicans — which may be why Democrats have mostly been talking about the Obamacare subsidies.
“Trump is running away from the negotiating table before he even gets there,” Schumer said in a statement in response to Trump cancelling the meeting. “Democrats are ready to work to avoid a shutdown — Trump and Republicans are holding America hostage. Donald Trump will own the shutdown.”
Jeffries also addressed the issue in a “Dear Colleague” letter on Tuesday, saying that “House Democrats are ready, willing and able to reach a bipartisan agreement” and will be back in Washington D.C. on Monday for a caucus meeting, despite House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) recessing the House until after the government funding deadline.
“Donald Trump has now chickened out and cancelled the meeting,” Jeffries wrote. “Clearly, GOP extremists want to shut down the government because they are unwilling to address the Republican healthcare crisis that is devastating America.”
On Friday, House Republicans passed their own “clean” short-term CR in a largely party-line vote. The Senate then took up both the GOP CR and the Democrats’ alternative CR. Both bills failed, as the CR require 60 votes in the Senate. Republicans have a 53-vote majority.
