In a sudden reversal, President Donald Trump has canceled a planned Thursday meeting with top Democratic leaders, dimming prospects for a deal to avert a looming partial government shutdown.
Less than 24 hours after agreeing to sit down with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffrie the president reversed course. He claimed there is nothing to discuss unless Democrats ditch their demands for massive spending and put the onus of a government shutdown completely on the their leadership.
“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 wrote Truth Social.
Neither Schumer nor Jeffries had issued a public response to the cancellation by late Tuesday, according to Roll Call.
In his post, Trump blasted Democratic priorities, accusing them of proposing “over $1 trillion in new spending” for health care, opening the nation’s borders to undocumented migrants, and pushing to “essentially create Transgender operations for everybody.” He closed with a challenge: “To the Leaders of the Democrat Party, the ball is in your court. I look forward to meeting with you when you become realistic about the things that our Country stands for. DO THE RIGHT THING!”
The cancellation raises the risk of a shutdown beginning October 1, when the new fiscal year begins without an appropriations deal. The Senate has already rejected both the House’s stopgap plan and a Democratic counterproposal aimed at preserving health insurance subsidies set to expire. They are demanding that more money be spent on healthcare, particularly Obamacare subsidies, as the signature plan from Obama continues to fail at the goal of lowering costs.
With the clock ticking, Congress now faces a stark choice: reach a compromise in days or brace for the economic and political fallout of a shutdown.
[Read More: Former Trump Official Announces Senate Plans]
