President Donald Trump announced Tuesday on Truth Social that he will not meet with Democrat minority leaders who had requested talks ahead of next week’s government shutdown deadline, writing that “no meeting with their Congressional Leaders could possibly be productive.”
In his post, Trump said he had reviewed what he called Democrats’ “unserious and ridiculous demands” and took aim at them for “threatening to shut down the Government of the United States unless they can have over $1 Trillion Dollars in new spending.” He asserted that Democrats wanted to “continue free healthcare for Illegal Aliens (A monumental cost!), force Taxpayers to fund Transgender surgery for minors, have dead people on the Medicaid roles, allow Illegal Alien Criminals to steal Billions of Dollars in American Taxpayer Benefits, try to force our Country to again open our Borders to Criminals and to the World, allow men to play in women’s sports, and essentially create Transgender operations for everybody.”
Trump contended that such policies contradicted the outcome of the 2024 election, which he described as a “HISTORIC LANDSLIDE.” He declared Democrats were also attempting to “eliminate the popular $50 Billion Dollar Rural and Vulnerable Hospital Fund, which was passed with only Republican Votes, and proudly signed into Law by ME.”
In their letter last week, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) urged Trump to meet with them directly, warning that Republicans were steering the country toward a shutdown by refusing to negotiate. They charged that the GOP’s spending bill would cut Medicaid and Medicare, raise premiums and deductibles, end Affordable Care Act tax credits, reduce vaccine access, and force the closure of hospitals and clinics nationwide. Schumer and Jeffries also accused Trump of instructing Republicans to “jam a partisan spending bill down the throats of the American people.”
In the days immediately after sending their letter, both leaders sharply rebuked the president. Schumer stated Trump’s pressure on the Department of Justice was “the path to a dictatorship,” while Jeffries claimed the Supreme Court had “enabled Trump to behave like a king” by granting presidential immunity.
Republican leaders have defended their proposal as a way to avoid a shutdown. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) emphasized that Congress still has time to address healthcare subsidy issues, remarking, “We have until the end of December to figure all that out.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) told Breitbart News exclusively that Democrats were blocking what he described as a “clean” continuing resolution to extend funding into November, cautioning that Schumer’s position was setting the stage for what he labeled a “Schumer shutdown.”
Some Democrats, including Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), broke with party leadership to support the House-passed measure, but Schumer and Jeffries have maintained their opposition. Democrats insist the bill fails to meet urgent healthcare needs.
The fight centers on whether to extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies created during the coronavirus pandemic and extended in the Inflation Reduction Act. The Paragon Health Institute has argued that continuing the credits would add more than $40 billion annually in costs and has pointed to problems such as “phantom enrollees” and double coverage.
Trump concluded his post by saying he remains open to talks if Democrats “get serious about the future of our Nation,” writing, “We must keep the Government open, and legislate like true Patriots rather than hold American Citizens hostage. I’ll be happy to meet with them if they agree to the Principles in this Letter. They must do their job! Otherwise, it will just be another long and brutal slog through their radicalized quicksand. 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!”
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