No Deal After Trump-Schumer Meeting to Avoid Shutdown
‘The discussions will continue,’ minority leader says
An impending government shutdown continued to loom following a meeting between President Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer at the White House Friday afternoon.
Schumer made a brief statement to reporters outside the Capitol upon his return.
“We had a long and detailed meeting. We discussed all of the major outstanding issues. We made some progress, but we still have a good number of disagreements. The discussions will continue,” the New York Democrat said. “Thank you.”
Schumer entered the main Senate elevators near the carriage entrance, away from all reporters after Hill staff told reporters he would be entering another doorway.
Schumer did not answer how the meeting went. A staff member said to look for a statement as the leader looked away.
Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn said the ball is in Schumer’s court.
Cornyn said he spoke with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly and that no agreements were reached at the White House.
“The President told him to go back and talk to Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell and work it out. So I think that’s the best way to handle this,” Cornyn said.
The Texas Republican said lawmakers have “got a perfectly good” CR on the Senate floor that they could vote on today to avoid a partial government shutdown at midnight.
Watch: McConnell, Durbin Make Their Case As Shutdown Looms
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Niels Lesniewski, Jennifer Shutt and Kellie Mejdrich contributed to this report.