Trump Says He’ll Meet Schumer, Jeffries — But On One Condition
President Donald J. Trump made clear on Tuesday that while he is willing to meet with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, any such meeting will only happen after Democrats agree to reopen the federal government.
Speaking during a Diwali celebration at the White House, the President underscored his commitment to getting Americans back to work as the Democrat-led shutdown reached its 21st day.
“I would like to meet with both of them, but I set one little caveat,” Trump told reporters. “They have to let the country open. The people want to go back to work. They want to be served. They need the services of some people, and a lot of people need the money, the payroll, so I’ll do it as soon as they open up the country.”
Despite growing economic pressure, Senate Democrats continue to block a Republican-backed continuing resolution — a short-term funding measure designed to keep the government running while broader budget talks continue. Instead, Democrats are insisting on including an extension of the Biden-era expanded Obamacare subsidies, which have kept their party’s signature healthcare law afloat through federal taxpayer funding.
Republicans, however, argue that Democrats are using the shutdown to hold the country hostage for partisan gain. “You can’t negotiate in good faith when one side refuses to open the doors,” a senior GOP aide said.
At a White House luncheon with Senate Republicans on Tuesday, President Trump praised Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought for his tough approach to budget discipline, jokingly comparing him to “Darth Vader” for cutting wasteful Democratic pet projects.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune reaffirmed that bipartisan negotiations could begin “as soon as we reopen the government.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has kept the House in recess since passing a clean GOP continuing resolution last month with only one Democrat voting in favor, has stood firm on reopening the government without additional policy riders.
Some Republicans, such as Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), expressed cautious optimism that talks could resume once Democrats return to the table. “We do have good people that are doing exactly that,” she told The Independent, “but I think it’s well recognized that it’s not just the House that has to figure this out. The administration is going to have to sign off on it so that the House will ultimately sign off on it.”
Democrats, however, appear divided behind the scenes. While some on the left remain steadfast in their opposition to reopening the government without additional spending, moderates have privately voiced concerns about political fallout.
Grassroots activists aligned with the far left have organized nationwide “No Kings” protests to denounce President Trump and pressure Democratic lawmakers to resist compromise. The demonstrations, which took place over the weekend, have amplified the influence of progressive factions within the Democratic Party, making it more difficult for centrists to support any Republican-sponsored funding measure.
“People are going to get hammered if they vote for the House-passed measure to fund the government through Nov. 21,” admitted one Democratic senator anonymously.
Meanwhile, Senate Democrats such as Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) have blamed Trump for the stalemate. “This guy, you know, he claims he knows the art of the deal,” Baldwin said. “He doesn’t know anything about that, obviously, from his behavior.” Yet even she conceded that “he wants to solve this, he’s just being obstinate. He owns this shutdown.”
Still, the facts remain clear: President Trump has repeatedly called on Democrats to reopen the government so negotiations can proceed, while the opposition continues to prioritize political leverage over the livelihoods of federal workers and the stability of the nation.
The standoff has become a defining test of leadership — and, once again, it is President Trump standing firm for fiscal sanity and accountability while Democrats gamble with Americans’ paychecks.