The top two Democrats in Congress said on Monday that they had accepted a White House invitation for a face-to-face meeting with Donald Trump on Thursday, in hopes of resolving troublesome issues that are blocking a government spending deal.
A temporary spending bill runs out at midnight on Friday, raising the possibility of a government shutdown.
The Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, and House minority leader, Nancy Pelosi, said in a statement Congress and the Trump administration needed to reach a deal to increase money for defense and domestic priorities.
“We have to provide funding for community health centers and Chip [the Children’s Health Insurance Program],” they added, “as well as relief for the millions of Americans still reeling from natural disasters.”
Chip is a 1997 program that provides health insurance cover for about nine million children and nearly 400,000 pregnant women nationwide. Its funding was allowed to lapse in October, amid fights over the future of the Affordable Care Act.
Democrats have charged Republicans with not doing anything to replace it. One of the creators of Chip, Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, said last week: “We’re going to do Chip. There’s no question about it in my mind.”
Pelosi and Schumer added: “We must also come together on a bipartisan deal to pass the Dream Act along with tough border security measures.”
In September, Trump announced the end of Obama-era protections for undocumented immigrants brought to the US as children, known as Dreamers. Democrats have made the issue a central part of negotiations with the president since.
Trump initially signalled that he would be receptive on the issue but in October Democrats rejected as “immoral” a list of Trump demands in return for action on Dreamers. Those demands included funding for a wall on the Mexico border and a crackdown on admittance of children from Central America.
Pelosi and Schumer abruptly backed out of a planned meeting last week after Trump attacked them on Twitter, writing: “Meeting with ‘Chuck and Nancy’ today about keeping government open and working. 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!”
Trump subsequently staged a political stunt, running a meeting with empty chairs left for the absent Democratic leaders.
On Monday, Schumer and Pelosi said they hoped Trump would go into this week’s meeting with an open mind, rather than dismissing the possibility of a deal beforehand.
They insisted: “There is a bipartisan path forward on all of these items.”
