Dems cancel meeting with Trump on government spending

WASHINGTON — The two top Democrats in the House and Senate abruptly cancelled a scheduled meeting Tuesday with President Donald Trump and Republican leaders that was to have focused on the budget.

The last-minute move by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi was more than a snub. In the event that Congress and the president don’t agree on a spending plan by Dec. 8, a government shutdown could follow.

Trump responded with a televised response in the Roosevelt Room. Flanked by two empty chairs, Trump said he was not surprised that Schumer and Pelosi “did not show up for our meeting,” citing their differences on crime, illegal immigration and defense spending.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan also voiced their disappointment that Schumer and Pelosi skipped the meeting.

Pelosi later tweeted that Trump “now knows that his verbal abuse will no longer be tolerated. His empty chair photo opp showed he’s more interested in stunts than in addressing the needs of the American people. Poor Ryan and McConnell relegated to props. Sad!”

The stand-off began as a Democratic response to a morning tweet from Trump: “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!”

Hours later, Schumer and Pelosi sent out a statement that 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.”

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders then issued a statement that encouraged the Democratic leaders to “put aside their pettiness.”

Both sides entrenched

“Nobody comes out ahead in this,” said Marc Sandalow, a political analyst with the University of California Washington Program. “This is going to entrench both sides in their own positions. Democrats will be happy that Schumer and Pelosi stuck it to Trump and Trump supporters will think that Trump stuck it to Chuck and Nancy.”

“It’s hard to imagine Congress being held in lower esteem,” Sandalow added. “A government shutdown would only make that worse.”

It was less than three months ago that Trump met with the Big Four – McConnell, Ryan, Schumer and Pelosi — that ended with an agreement that included a plan to keep the government running, increase the debt ceiling and provide disaster aid for victims of Hurricane Harvey.

Democrats had wanted a deal with a three-month window. Ryan wanted an 18-month package.

Trump shocked GOP leaders by giving Democrats the three-month timeline they sought. Pelosi later told reporters that an 18-month package would have destroyed her party’s negotiating leverage. Trump’s move, she said, “frankly strengthened our hand for three months.”

The temporary spending bill expires Dec. 8 and another is needed to prevent a government shutdown. Hurricane aid to help Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands is also expected to be included in that measure, as well as renewed financing for a children’s health program that serves more than 8 million low-income children.

Defense Secretary James Mattis attended Tuesday’s White House meeting and noted North Korea’s launch of what the Pentagon said was an intercontinental ballistic missile.

Both Trump and Ryan suggested the Pyongyang launch should serve as an impetus to pass a budget with enhanced military spending.

Role reversal

It was not that long ago that Democrats lashed out at Republicans for failing to work across the aisle.

Former President Barack Obama faulted Republicans for buying into the “notion that everything I do is to be opposed; that cooperation or compromise is somehow a betrayal.”

In 2012 Pelosi criticized the GOP House for trying to “obstruct every initiative” Obama put forward.

But with Trump in the White House, Democrats have embraced the role reversal.

“I think it’s each political party using the power it has to get what it wants,” said Mark Harkins, a senior fellow at the Government Affairs Institute at Georgetown University,

Harkins said these publicly announced leadership meetings tend to be “touch-the-gloves” sessions that begin the back-and-forth between the two sides. The cancellations mean two things – the folks in the back room will have to work harder for a deal and both sides will “negotiate in the press.”

After all the drama, Harkins predicted, the parties will agree to a resolution to continue spending because no one wants to shut down the government.

“A shutdown seems highly unlikely,” said Sandalow, “but if one side thinks they will get more out of it and the other side will get blamed for it, then it will be very attractive.”

During the Roosevelt Room event, the president was asked if he would blame Democrats if there is a government shutdown. “Well, if that happens,” he responded, “I would absolutely blame the Democrats.”

Contact Debra J. Saunders at dsaunders@reviewjournal.com or at 202-662-7391. Follow @DebraJSaunders on Twitter.