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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., rejected accusations that he was caving to progressive pressure to force a government shutdown and said a deal could be made to keep the government open if the Republicans were willing to negotiate.
"It's up to them. If they come into the meeting to seriously negotiate - and the reason we've been pushing for months, and we've been resolute that we need a meeting, that we need a real negotiation - and you don't do this by one party putting together a completely partisan bill and saying take it or leave it," Schumer told NBC's "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker Sunday.
Democrats and Republicans in Congress are at odds over a proposal to keep the government funded through Nov. 21 that needs to be passed by Tuesday in order to prevent a shutdown. Democrats in the Senate are refusing to provide the necessary votes for passage unless they secure key concessions, namely Affordable Care Act subsidies for low-and- middle-income Americans and reversing Republican Medicaid cuts passed in President Donald Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill."
Republicans have called those demands non-starters and urged Democrats to pass a clean funding bill.
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Just before Schumer's interview, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Welker that Democrats are "afraid of their base" and said Obamacare tax credits could be negotiated at the end of the year when they are set to expire. He urged Democrats to "release the hostage," adding that he was open to talks about the tax credits later.
"Rank-and-file Democrats are getting nervous and Sen. Schumer is too. The far left has painted them into an unsustainable corner, and they know it. Hopefully, Sen. Schumer sees the light and listens to the same voice that walked him and his colleagues away from a shutdown in March. If a White House meeting helps them get there, I welcome the opportunity," Thune said Sunday.
"Fundamentally, nothing has changed, though, and the choice remains the same. Democrats can either vote for a clean, short-term, nonpartisan CR [continuing resolution] that prioritizes the American people, or they can choose a completely avoidable shutdown," he added.
TRUMP CANCELS MEETING WITH SCHUMER, JEFFRIES OVER 'RIDICULOUS DEMANDS' AS FUNDING DEADLINE LOOMS
Trump is scheduled to meet with Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., along with Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., at the White House Monday to discuss the funding measure. Trump was previously scheduled to meet with Democrats to discuss the funding measure, but canceled the meeting on Tuesday, saying that the meeting could not be "productive."
"After reviewing the details of the unserious and ridiculous demands being made by the Minority Radical Left Democrats in return for their Votes to keep our thriving Country open, I have decided that no meeting with their Congressional Leaders could possibly be productive," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Schumer and Jeffries released a joint statement Saturday saying they are willing to meet with the president but warned that time is running out.
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"President Trump has once again agreed to a meeting in the Oval Office. As we have repeatedly said, Democrats will meet anywhere, at any time and with anyone to negotiate a bipartisan spending agreement that meets the needs of the American people, we are resolute in our determination to avoid a government shutdown and address the Republican healthcare crisis. Time is running out," the Democratic leaders said.
