WASHINGTON (AP) – The Latest on President Trump’s discussions with lawmakers on taxes and the budget (all times local):
11:30 a.m.
Top Democratic leaders in Congress have abruptly pulled out of a planned meeting with President Donald Trump after he attacked them on Twitter.
FILE – In this Nov. 2, 2017 file photo, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., flanked by Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, left, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., holds a news conference on Capitol Hill to respond to the Republican tax reform plan in Washington. Top Democratic leaders in Congress have abruptly pulled out of a planned meeting with President Donald Trump after he attacked them on Twitter. Trump tweeted early Tuesday that “I don’t see a deal!” with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi. Schumer and Pelosi are shooting back with a statement asking for talks with top GOP leaders in Congress instead because, they wrote, “we don’t have any time to waste.” (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Trump tweeted early Tuesday that “I don’t see a deal!” with Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer and top House Democrat Nancy Pelosi.
Schumer and Pelosi are shooting back with a statement asking for talks with top GOP leaders in Congress.
They 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.”
Congress faces a Dec. 8 deadline to pass stopgap legislation to keep the government open.
They added, “we don’t have any time to waste.”
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9:45 a.m.
President Donald Trump is casting doubt on whether he and congressional leaders can agree to keep the government funded.
Trump is meeting with Democratic and Republican congressional leaders at the White House on Tuesday to discuss budget and immigration issues.
But, in a tweet, Trump cast doubt on whether they can agree to fund the government beyond a Dec. 8 deadline.
Says Trump: “I don’t see a deal!”
Trump says Democrats “want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes.”
Trump also portrays the meeting as being with Democrats “Chuck and Nancy.” Those are Trump’s nicknames for Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Nancy Pelosi. Republican leaders – House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell – are also attending the meeting.
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3:15 a.m.
President Donald Trump is heading to Capitol Hill to rally Senate Republicans on taxes. Then he’ll pivot to negotiations with Democrats pressing for victories of their own in a separate, high-stakes showdown over the budget and immigration.
After 10 months in office, Trump is still seeking his first marquee win in Congress, but the White House and GOP leaders have work to do to get their tax bill in shape for a vote later this week. Party deficit hawks pressed for a “backstop” mechanism to limit the risk of a spiral in the deficit.
On a separate track is a multi-layered negotiation over a huge Pentagon budget increase sought by Trump and Republicans and increases for domestic programs demanded by Democrats.
CORRECTS THAT KING IS FROM MAINE, NOT VERMONT – Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, left, and Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., arrive for votes on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday evening, Nov. 27, 2017. President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans are scrambling to change a Republican tax bill in an effort to win over holdout GOP senators and pass a tax package by the end of the year. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan., a member of the tax-writing Senate Finance Committee, leaves the Senate floor during votes on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday evening, Nov. 27, 2017. President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans are scrambling to change a Republican tax bill in an effort to win over holdout GOP senators and pass a tax package by the end of the year. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Senate Armed Services Chairman John McCain, R-Ariz., arrives for votes on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday evening, Nov. 27, 2017. President Donald Trump and Senate Republicans are scrambling to change a Republican tax bill in an effort to win over holdout GOP senators and pass a tax package by the end of the year. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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