Trump to meet with Schumer, Pelosi amid wall fight

President Trump will meet with congressional Democratic leadership next week, days ahead of a deadline to prevent a partial government shutdown. 

Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) are expected to meet with Trump at the White House on Tuesday, according to a source familiar with the matter. 

The topic of the meeting isn’t set but will likely include how to meet a Dec. 7 deadline to fund key parts of the government, including the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), amid an entrenched fight over Trump’s U.S.-Mexico border wall.

{mosads}Congress missed the Sept. 30 deadline, the end of the 2018 fiscal year, for seven of the 12 individual appropriations bills, kicking the fight until early December. Trump met last month with both Senate and House GOP leadership to discuss the year-end agenda, including government funding. 

Both sides are stepping up their posturing as they barrel toward the Friday deadline. 

Schumer, on the Senate floor, said Trump had two options that could get the votes needed to pass the Senate: Accept the $1.6 billion for the border included in the Senate’s DHS bill, or let Congress pass a stopgap continuing resolution for the department. 

“If President Trump wants to throw a temper tantrum and shut down some departments and agencies over Christmas, that’s certainly within his power, but he has two more sensible options available to him. It would be a shame if the country suffered because of a Trump temper tantrum. It’s the president’s choice,” Schumer added. 

But Republicans believe Trump would veto a bill that only included $1.6 billion, with the White House instead pushing for $5 billion, in line with the House DHS bill. Republicans have floated a two-year plan, which has been rejected by Democrats, that would give Trump $2.5 billion in funding for barriers and border security for both 2019 and 2020. 

Meghan Burris, a spokeswoman for the Office of Management and Budget, quickly fired back saying a potential lapse in funding would lead to a “Schumer shutdown”

“Democrats would rather shut the government down and leave millions of Americans less secure than work with the Administration to solve this unchecked crisis. It is evident there is a need to secure the Nation’s borders and the President has made it clear that is his number one priority,” she added.

Trump has refused to take a shutdown off the table. He told reporters on Thursday that “if we don’t get border security, possible shutdown.”