President Donald Trump will meet with Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), and several high-ranking Republicans at the White House on Monday — with the summit happening a little more than 24 hours before the government will shutdown, barring a last-minute funding deal.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) will join the president and Democratic politicians at the meeting, according to Punchbowl News, the first outlet to report the story; the Associated Press followed with its own confirmation shortly after PN broke the news on Saturday evening.
Barring an agreement, the federal government will shutdown at 12:01 a.m. ET on Wednesday.
“Democrats, believing they have leverage, have insisted on key health care provisions in exchange for their votes,” the AP reported. “They want an extension of subsidies that help low- and middle-income earners purchase insurance through the Affordable Care Act. Democrats are also insisting on reversing cuts to Medicaid that were included [in] the GOP’s signature tax measure earlier this year.”
Not every insider feels the same way, though. The Hill, according to one Democratic aide, reported on Saturday that Democrats are “behind the 8-ball in the current fight” because Schumer supported a GOP spending bill earlier this year. That move now has other Dems feeling “like they’ve got to make up for that and satisfy the base,” the aide said.
Saturday’s reports about the upcoming meeting are a bit surprising, considering President Trump announced last week he had canceled a similar meeting with Schumer and Jeffries.
“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,” Trump posted on Truth Social at the time.
The president apparently feels differently now.
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