Trump willing to meet with Democrats before shutdown deadline

John T. Bennett, CQ-Roll Call on Aug 13, 2025

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he would meet with House and Senate Democratic leaders ahead of a government funding deadline but cast doubt on a deal to avoid a federal shutdown.

Trump has not met with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries or Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, both of New York, since returning to the White House on Jan. 20.

“Well, I will, I guess, but it’s almost a waste of time to meet because they never approve anything,” Trump said, responding to a question following his remarks at a Kennedy Center event.

During a lengthy answer, Trump then several times said he would meet with Jeffries and Schumer but repeated his contention that such a bipartisan session likely would not yield legislative fruit.

“So, I mean, we will meet,” Trump said. “But nothing’s going to come out at the meeting.”

At another point, Trump appeared to pour cold water on the possibility of a government funding deal that is required by midnight Sept. 30, the last day of the fiscal year, to avert a government shutdown.

“Of course, I can meet with them. We’re going to tell them all these good things, and they’re going to tell us no,” Trump said from the Kennedy Center. “And then, we’re going to go out and we’re going to vote it in by the Republicans because … I don’t believe that anybody is capable of making a deal with these people. They have gone crazy.”

Trump’s forecast, however, ignores some Senate math. A continuing resolution or some kind of fiscal 2026 spending legislation would need 60 votes in that chamber; Republicans have fewer than that with 53 seats and the vote of Vice President JD Vance.

It also belies history among his fellow Republicans in the House. With a razor-thin majority, a group of federal spending-skeptical conservatives could easily have the numbers to block a shutdown-avoiding measure from securing the necessary 218 votes. If that history repeats itself, Jeffries would need to provide enough Democratic votes to pass the measure.

But Trump, using a golf term for mental blocks that can ruin the rounds of even the best putters, said Wednesday the opposition party has developed “the yips” when it comes to voting in favor of legislation.

“If we want money to fight crime, if we want money [for] only good things, just good things. Let’s not even talk about controversy. They don’t want to meet about anything,” he said. “They’re stuck.

“They don’t know what to do. They have probably more, I would say more than half are sane,” he said of most congressional Democrats, before lambasting the very leaders with whom he would have to negotiate next month: “But they are led by insane people.”

For their part, Jeffries and Schumer have blasted the president’s moves since returning to power.

“As the Trump admin lies to hardworking Americans, rips away their benefits, and runs our economy into the ground: Senate Democrats are traveling the nation, talking to Americans face to face and telling the truth,” Schumer wrote Wednesday on X, adding, “Republicans bow down to Trump, but we stand up for democracy.”