After hearing the “poor and ridiculous, ridiculous demands” by Democrats, the president said he would not meet “may not be productive.”
Rep. Mike Johnson says Dems’ stance could lead to the closure on October 1st
House Speaker Mike Johnson says Democrats may force government shutdowns as the deadline is approaching October 1st.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump has withdrawn anticipated meetings with top Democrats in Congress to avoid government shutdowns, calling their demands “unsafe and ridiculous.”
“I have decided that meeting their parliamentary leaders is not productive,” he wrote in a social media post on September 23.
The president was scheduled to sit down with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakem Jeffries on Thursday, September 25th to negotiate a budgetary impasse. Last week, members of Congress failed to proceed with short-term funding extensions during their holidays.
The main sticking points are related to health care. Democrats say they won’t vote to fund the government unless Republicans are working on rising healthcare costs, such as overturning recent Medicaid cuts and extending the Obamacare Premium Subsidy.
Government funds will expire in the middle of the night on September 30th.
Zachary Schermele is a council reporter for USA Today. You can contact him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @Zachschermele and follow Bluesky at @Zachschermele.bsky.social.
