After last week’s snub, when Nanci Pelosi and Chuck Schumer pulled out of a meeting scheduled with Trump when the president tweeted that he was sitting down with “Chuck and Nancy” but that he didn’t “see a deal”, it appears that there has been no bad blood between the president and the top Democrats, because on Monday afternoon Chuck and Nancy said they would head to the White House on Thursday for end-of-the-year negotiations and avoiding a government shutdown this week.
“We’re glad the White House has reached out and asked for a second meeting. We hope the President will go into this meeting with an open mind, rather than deciding that an agreement can’t be reached beforehand,” the two Democratic leaders said in a joint statement. They added that they “are hopeful the President will be open to an agreement to address the urgent needs of the American people and keep government open.”
In addition to the Democrats, top Republicans Mitch McConnell and Paul Ryan, who attended last week’s meeting with Trump alone, are expected to be at Thursday’s powwow.
The meeting is scheduled for one day before the Dec. 8 deadline to fund the government, which means that any potential complications could result in an abrupt – if temporary – government shutdown.
As reported previously, House GOP leadership is pushing forward with a plan to pass a two-week short-term spending bill as soon as Wednesday, the same as Senate GOP leadership which is also backing the two-week stopgap strategy.
Democrats have yet to take a position on passing a two-week “clean” continuing resolution. Since their votes will be needed to avoid a shutdown, Democrats will hold the leverage: in addition to a short-term deal, Schumer and Pelosi noted they also need to reach a budget agreement, as well as fund the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), pass more disaster relief aid and address a key Obama-era immigration program.
As part of their demands, the duo said that the funding deal must boost spending for military and domestic priorities equally, and also calls for bipartisan agreement on Dreamers along with border security measures.
This may be a problem, and another problem will the Freedom Caucus which as Politico’s Jake Sherman reports, is getting itchy and “holding meeting before votes tonight as they opposed to gop leadership govt funding strategy.”
NEWS- FREEDOM CAUCUS getting itchy. Holding meeting before votes tonight as they opposed to gop leadership govt funding strategy. pic.twitter.com/ptKsYrZeCc
— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) December 4, 2017
Trump called their bluff after they boycotted the first meeting. His Tweet that expressed that any shutdown would lay at the feet of the no-show Dems got their attention. I love this guy, but am a bit disappointed that he’s giving them a second chance.
“I love this guy,…”
SERIOUSLY???????????????????????????????
Boy, are YOU in for a rude awakening.
Lay off the Kool-Aid, and turn off the idiot box, you’ve been too well ‘programmed’.
You love this guy? You are on the wrong site, traitor. There is no difference between the dictator Donald Trump or the dictator Obama or the Dictator Bush or Clinton or Bush or Ronny Reagan or any of the rest of them. He is an Israeli puppet and he is a goddamn communist who does not recognize my Bill of Rights.
Tell me, SouthernAZ, is it all right with you if Trump doesn’t recognize my rights, that he has signed on to the War Powers act which has removed our common law courts, and thus our Bill of Rights?
I will require an answer before you make one more comment on this site.
Trolls have been hitting the site lately Henry, these guys make a toilet bug comment, then hide under their mother’s dress.
Yep. Now I am glad when serious patriots who are new come onto this site. But most of the “newbies” clearly do not fit into that category. There is freedom of speech, but folks who post utter nonsense do need to be able to back up with facts what they state. Freedom of speech does carry a responsibility, after all. Good work, Henry.
O.K., I went easy on him, Henry, but only because I wore myself out trying to explain the false left-right paradigm to that idiot SKYWALKER.
I knew you’d have something to say about it anyway.
NICE!!! 🙂
I really don’t understand how people still think that their party is better than the other party or how they can continue to play with gay game.
I also still don’t understand how after being cheated and scammed by them over and over again, that they still believe that this country was only founded by two parties and that they are still playing their game and mock others who don’t pick a party and label them as conspiracy nuts, even after you point out the facts and show them truth.
As the old saying goes, “Denial’s not just a river in Egypt”.
Dog and Pony
2 heads , same beast ..and we’re the ones getting played by both teams
Funny how the American people are never invited to express their opinion on these government shutdown threats. They’d all be out of work.
They just keep deciding that we have to keep paying for it.