President Donald Trump has canceled a planned meeting with congressional leaders as a government shutdown approaches, drawing criticism from Democratic lawmakers and support from Republicans.
The meeting was scheduled for this week at the White House, where Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries were set to negotiate with Trump on a deal to keep the government funded past September 30.
Trump announced his decision to cancel the meeting in a post on Truth Social. “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,” he wrote, “I have decided that no meeting with their Congressional Leaders could possibly be productive.” He went on to criticize Democratic proposals for taxpayer funding of health care for undocumented immigrants and gender transition procedures. “To the Leaders of the Democrat Party, the ball is in your court,” Trump added. “I look forward to meeting with them if they get serious about the future of our Nation.”
The dispute arises from competing spending plans in Congress. Democrats are advocating for a short-term funding bill that includes measures such as extending Affordable Care Act subsidies and reversing previous Medicaid cuts, which would increase health spending by about $1 trillion, according to reporting by The New York Times. In contrast, Republicans are pushing for a short-term funding measure without additional conditions.
Given the narrow Republican majorities in both chambers, bipartisan cooperation is required for any funding bill to pass.
Following Trump’s announcement, Jeffries responded on X: “Trump Always Chickens Out. Trump just cancelled a high stakes meeting in the Oval Office with myself and Leader Schumer. The extremists want to shut down the government because they are unwilling to address the Republican healthcare crisis that is devastating America.” Schumer also posted on X: “When you’re finished ranting, we can sit down and discuss health care.”
Other Democrats expressed frustration over Trump’s move. Virginia Representative James Walkinshaw wrote: “The priority must be cancelling the health care cuts and passing a bipartisan budget. Instead, Trump threw a tantrum & cancelled a planned meeting with Democratic leaders. If there’s a shutdown, it’s on him & Republicans.” New Jersey Representative Josh Gottheimer added: “Government funding runs out in just 7 days and millions of Americans are facing skyrocketing health care premiums because of tax credits expiring at the end of this year. This is an avoidable crisis. We must put politics aside and work across the aisle to get this done.”
Republicans placed responsibility for any potential shutdown on Democrats. House Speaker Mike Johnson stated on X: “Last week, (House Republicans) voted to keep the government open and sent our clean, nonpartisan short-term government funding bill to the Senate. Now,” he continued, “Democrats are threatening to SHUT DOWN THE GOVERNMENT unless their demands are met…”
South Carolina Representative Russell Fry accused Democrats of “holding America hostage” over their policy requests. Arizona Representative Paul Gosar referred to possible closure as “the Schumer Shutdown,” blaming Schumer for yielding to left-wing pressure.
The deadline for passing new government funding is September 30.
