pelosi-Schumer
© Washington Examiner
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. abruptly cancelled a meeting scheduled for Tuesday with President Trump on tax reform and government spending after the president tweeted earlier that he "doesn't see a deal" emerging from the meeting.

Pelosi and Schumer said they will instead negotiate with congressional Republicans.

"Given that the president doesn't see a deal between Democrats and the White House, we believe the best path forward is to continue negotiating with our Republican counterparts in Congress instead," they said in a joint statement. "Rather than going to the White House for a show meeting that won't result in an agreement, we've asked Leader McConnell and Speaker Ryan to meet this afternoon."

"We don't have any time to waste in addressing the issues that confront us, so we're going to continue to negotiate with Republican leaders who may be interested in reaching a bipartisan agreement," they added.

Trump tweeted Tuesday morning he was meeting with "Chuck and Nancy" today.

He added, "Problem is they want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes. I don't see a deal!"


Democrats are seeking a deal to legalize young people who came here illegally as children, but they will not agree to money for a southern border wall.

"If the president, who already said earlier this year that 'our country needs a good shutdown,' isn't interested in addressing the difficult year end agenda, we'll work with those Republicans who are, as we did in April," Pelosi and Schumer said. "We look forward to continuing to work in good faith, as we have been for the last month, with our Republican colleagues in Congress to do just that."