Democrats press Trump for meeting as shutdown deadline looms

WASHINGTON — Democratic leaders pressed President Donald Trump to meet with them as the threat of a partial government shutdown grew closer, arguing that a face-to-face discussion could help break an impasse over funding and policy demands. After Trump abruptly canceled a planned Thursday meeting with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrats signaled they would keep pressing for talks, saying the country deserves a direct conversation about a path forward.

Schumer, appearing on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, said there was "no good reason" for the president not to meet and criticized the decision to cancel as a sign that the administration was not pursuing a deal. Jeffries later staged a news briefing in which he faulted Republicans for pressing to shut the government down and said Democrats were prepared to negotiate, but not to be treated like a hostage to a political deadline. Trump, he said, had previously agreed to hold a meeting in the Oval Office to avert a shutdown, only to retract that commitment after speaking with GOP leaders. "Donald Trump agrees to our demand on Saturday to hold a meeting in the Oval Office to try to avert a government shutdown. The meeting is set on Monday for later on in the week. And then Donald Trump wakes up Tuesday morning and goes on an unhinged rant and cancels the meeting," Jeffries said.

Democrats have demanded a package that includes an extension of subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, saying such a provision is essential to keep health benefits available as negotiations continue. They want the subsidies extended through Nov. 21 as part of a broader funding measure, arguing that failure to do so would inject health policy uncertainty into a funding stalemate. Republicans, by contrast, have insisted on a "clean" continuing resolution with no conditions attached to keep the government funded. A clean CR passed the House last week but stalled in the Senate, and a separate Democrat-backed stopgap that included ACA subsidies also failed in the Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has faced pressure from progressive colleagues and activist groups to use the funding fight to secure concessions, while continuing to defend the need to protect health protections for Americans. Schumer’s stance has become a focal point as lawmakers weigh whether to tie policy changes to funding measures, a move Republicans have resisted.

On the Republican side, House Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune have said they are open to discussing ACA subsidies after the shutdown deadline, but not as a precondition for funding. Thune, in an interview with CNN, said any reform to the ACA subsidies or related health policies should be discussed in a broader context rather than used as leverage to avert a funding lapse. Johnson has indicated he plans to keep the House out of session through the funding deadline in an effort to press Senate Democrats to act.

The White House and congressional leadership are navigating a familiar set of tensions: progressives rallying for concessions on health policy, while Republicans insist on a clean funding bill with no strings attached. The administration has argued that a narrow, $1- or $2-year extension of ACA subsidies could provide needed breathing room for a longer-term budget deal, but Republicans have shown little willingness to trade funding for policy changes in the current moment.

The political backdrop includes past episodes in which Senate leaders faced backlash for blocking or permitting contentious funding measures. Schumer, who has avoided blocking some GOP spending bills in the past, has privately faced pressure to leverage the current moment to secure concessions. While some Democrats want a broader agreement that includes health policy reforms, others worry that tying subsidies to funding could derail a timely resolution to avert a shutdown.

Adding to the complexity, a bipartisan group of lawmakers is exploring a potential pathway to extend ACA subsidies while addressing broader budget questions. The alignment of that effort with ongoing negotiations remains uncertain, and negotiators have signaled that any final package would need to win broad support in both chambers. The party’s shakeup over health policy reform is also tied to a broader reform effort referenced in discussions of bills once labeled the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and now described by proponents as the Working Families Tax Cut Act.

With both chambers on recess this week, policymakers face a clock that could force a final decision by the end of the week. Johnson has indicated the House will stay out of session through the deadline in an effort to prompt Senate Democrats to act, while Republicans have warned against offering a deal that funds the government with ongoing policy disputes unresolved.

As the deadline approaches, the top priority for Democrats remains clear: secure a venue for talks with the White House that could yield compromise on health policy while keeping the government funded through the agreed period. Whether that can be achieved before the 11:59 p.m. Tuesday cutoff remains uncertain, and the political calculus in Washington will continue to evolve as week progresses.