President Donald Trump said he’s not surprised Democratic leaders did not show up to a planned meeting with him to negotiate a spending package to avert a government shutdown.
“We have a lot of differences,” Trump said, calling the leaders “all talk” and “no action.”
Trump was scheduled to meet with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Tuesday, but they canceled their meeting with the president after he tweeted that he didn’t “see a deal” coming together as a result of the meeting with Democrats.
Schumer and Pelosi said they would meet with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) instead.
“We don’t have any time to waste in addressing the issues that confront us, so we’re going to continue to negotiate with Republican leaders who may be interested in reaching a bipartisan agreement,” the Democratic leaders said in a joint statement.
Trump said he would “absolutely blame the Democrats” for a potential government shutdown.
The president met with Senate Republicans about tax reform earlier Tuesday, telling reporters it was “somewhat of a love-fest” and “phenomenal,” and noting he thinks the Senate tax plan will pass. McConnell and Ryan were with Trump when he spoke to reporters on Tuesday afternoon, flanked by empty chairs representing the absent Schumer and Pelosi.
“I think we have tremendous support,” Trump said, adding that Republicans are “in a very good position.”
This story has been updated with additional quotes from Trump.