Trump cancels shutdown talks with Jeffries and Schumer over 'unserious' demands as funding deadline looms
The president pulls back from a planned Oval Office meeting with Democratic leaders amid a funding fight that could trigger a partial government shutdown next week, with both sides pressing for policy concessions.
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump abruptly canceled a planned Oval Office meeting with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to resolve the funding dispute ahead of a partial government shutdown next week. Moments before delivering a speech to the United Nations General Assembly, Trump said he would not meet with the Democratic leaders until “they get serious about the future of our nation.” In a post on Truth Social, he criticized the Democrats’ demands as “unserious and ridiculous” and asserted that no productive talks could occur under those terms.
Jeffries and Schumer had been scheduled to meet with the president on Thursday after repeated requests from the Democratic leaders. In the hours after the cancellation, the two leaders publicly pushed back, with Schumer predicting the president would “own the shutdown” and Jeffries saying that the president “always chickens out.” The Democratic leadership argued that any agreement on funding had to include protections and policy reversals Democrats say are needed to shield Americans from rolling consequences of Republican policy choices.
Democrats have pressed Republicans to extend Obamacare tax credits that are set to expire at the end of the year and to reverse Medicaid cuts enacted in a broader GOP spending framework. They maintain that any stopgap funding measure should include those protections, arguing that moving ahead without them would amount to a political hostage situation. Republicans have signaled they are open to addressing some health-care provisions, but they insist on broader policy changes and a longer-term deal rather than a short-term extension.
The latest standoff comes after the House passed a short-term spending patch to keep the government funded through Nov. 21, while Senate Democrats blocked the measure in that chamber. A separate Democrat-backed Senate bill also failed. Trump’s all-caps critique of the Democrats on Truth Social and his UN remarks underscored how personal and partisan the funding fight has become as the deadline edges closer. “There are consequences to losing Elections, but based on their letter to me, the Democrats haven’t figured that out yet,” he added, signaling a willingness to let the process collapse if talks do not meet his terms.
Analysts note that the political math for any temporary funding accord is tight. With Republicans holding 53 seats in the Senate and a single senator, Rand Paul of Kentucky, pledging to vote against any continuing resolution, the GOP would need support from at least eight Democrats to clear a 60-vote hurdle. Democrats, who have unified control of the Senate in this scenario only in a limited sense when it comes to spending, have so far insisted that any funding measure must extend current Obamacare subsidies and reverse certain Medicaid reductions. The intra-party divergence over how to handle health policy has kept the chamber from advancing a bipartisan stopgap.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said the House would consider the Affordable Care Act subsidy extension later this year, but only after resolving the current funding impasse. He and other Republican leaders have indicated they do not plan to bring another stopgap to a floor vote until after the shutdown deadline, arguing that meaningful negotiations must occur before any vote.
The dynamic has placed Democratic leadership under intense pressure from a progressive base seeking concessions on health policy, while Republicans warn that accepting Democratic demands would embolden what they call a fiscal recklessness that could worsen the nation’s healthcare and debt outlook. Schumer, in remarks Sunday, argued that the political terrain has evolved since March, when he faced criticism for not blocking a GOP funding bill. “The situation is a lot different now than it was then,” Schumer said. “This is a demand from the American people across the board.”
As talks stalled, both chambers entered a recess for Rosh Hashanah, limiting opportunities for negotiations this week. The absence of a clear path to a funding agreement has left federal services stare-downs and agency operations at risk, heightening uncertainties for millions of federal workers and contractors who rely on timely funding and continuation of health-care subsidies.
The shutdown risk underscores a broader political stalemate in Washington, with party leaders in both chambers signaling they are unwilling to concede on spending or policy priorities without assurances from the other side. The outcome could shape the tactical posture of the parties heading into the 2026 election cycle, as lawmakers weigh the electoral costs of standing firm on health policy versus finding a package that can pass with some bipartisan support. In the near term, the immediate concern remains keeping the government open and ensuring that essential services continue while negotiations resume or, at minimum, while a temporary funding mechanism is extended.