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As the Shutdown Loomed, Trump Reached Out to Schumer How Trump and Schumer Came Close to a Deal Over Cheeseburgers
(about 4 hours later)
WASHINGTON — In the White House briefing room on Friday, Mick Mulvaney, President Trump’s top budget official, predicted a government shutdown and mockingly named it “the Schumer Shutdown,” after the Senate’s top Democrat, Chuck Schumer of New York. WASHINGTON — President Trump and Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the top Democrat in the Senate, came close to an agreement to avert a government shutdown over lunch on Friday. But their consensus broke down later in the day when the president and his chief of staff demanded more concessions on immigration, according to people on both sides familiar with the lunch and follow-up calls between Mr. Trump and Mr. Schumer.
But hours before the briefing, in another part of the West Wing, Mr. Trump placed a call to the senator he once called “Cryin’ Chuck.” Without giving his staff almost any heads-up, the president spontaneously invited Mr. Schumer to a last-ditch, one-on-one negotiating session in the Oval Office. The negotiations between Mr. Trump and Mr. Schumer, fellow New Yorkers who have known each other for years, began when the president called Mr. Schumer on Friday morning, giving the White House staff almost no heads-up. In a lengthy phone conversation, both men agreed to seek a permanent spending deal rather than the stopgap measure being negotiated by lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
The invitation was a heart-stopping moment for conservatives that conjured up their worst fears: a closed-door deal between Mr. Trump and the wily Democratic master of legislative strategy. Less than an hour later, Mr. Schumer was meeting with Mr. Trump over cheeseburgers in the president’s study next to the Oval Office. The White House chief of staff, John F. Kelly, was there, as was Mr. Schumer’s chief of staff, Mike Lynch.
The same thing nearly happened in September, when Mr. Trump almost reached an agreement on the fate of 800,000 young immigrants who stand to be displaced by the elimination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, known as DACA, over a dinner of Chinese food in the White House Blue Room with Mr. Schumer and Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the top Democrat in the House. As the meal progressed, an outline of an agreement was struck, according to one person familiar with the discussion: Mr. Schumer said yes to higher levels for military spending and discussed the possibility of fully funding the president’s wall on the southern border with Mexico. In exchange, the president agreed to support legalizing young immigrants who were brought to the United States as children.
Now, with Mr. Trump eager to begin his golf-and-fund-raising weekend at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate, there was once again the prospect that the president would publicly side with his Democratic adversaries, who are refusing to fund the government unless Congress passes legislation to protect the young immigrants, known as Dreamers, who were brought to the United States as children. Mr. Schumer left the White House believing he had persuaded the president to support a short, three to four-day spending extension to finalize an agreement, which would also include disaster funding and health care measures.
Once again, Mr. Trump’s impulses led him to ignore political protocols and his own Republican allies, like Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin and Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, who had groused in recent days that the Senate would consider an immigration bill “as soon as we figure out what he is for.” “In my heart, I thought we might have a deal tonight,” Mr. Schumer recalled later on the Senate floor, shortly after the government officially shut down at midnight. At 11:55 p.m., he had been greeted with a blistering White House statement that “Senate Democrats own the Schumer Shutdown.”
But as happened in September — when a tentative deal fell apart after the president’s hard-line advisers and conservative supporters revolted — Friday’s meeting went nowhere. Whatever the decades-long relationship there was between the two men, fueled by a common upbringing in the boroughs of New York, political divisions once again made it impossible to reach an agreement. Mr. Trump, a onetime real estate mogul whose book “The Art of the Deal” proclaimed his mastery of negotiation, has struggled at times to seal deals as president. He inserted himself into health care negotiations last March, only to see talks in the House collapse. In September, a deal-making dinner with “Chuck and Nancy” — Mr. Schumer and Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the House minority leader — later devolved into angry recriminations. And he has so far failed to bring his promised trade talks to a close.
In classic Trump style, the president on Friday made anxious conservatives hold their breath for almost 90 minutes as the possibility of a Trump-Schumer deal dangled in the Washington wind. In a later Twitter post, Mr. Trump declared it an “excellent preliminary meeting” and said he was making progress with Mr. Schumer and Republican leaders. On Friday afternoon, when Mr. Schumer was back on Capitol Hill, Mr. Trump called Mr. Schumer, a person familiar with the call said, and told him that he understood they had agreed on a three-week spending deal, not three or four days. Mr. Schumer told the president, the person said, that Democrats would oppose a three-week measure because they saw it as a delaying tactic.
But after leaving the White House on Friday, Mr. Schumer displayed none of the bravado that he exhibited in September, when he gleefully announced that Mr. Trump had agreed in principle to a deal on Dreamers after their dinner. A White House official said that Mr. Schumer raised the possibility of a one- or two-day extension, but Mr. Trump told Mr. Schumer to work out the details of a short-term measure with Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader.
“We made some progress, but we still have a number of disagreements,” a sober-looking Mr. Schumer told reporters at the Capitol after the meeting. “The discussions will continue.” A short time later Mr. Schumer called the president, the person said, but the conversation drove the pair even further apart. The immigration concessions from Democrats were not conservative enough, Mr. Trump told Mr. Schumer. The president said he needed more border security measures as well as more enforcement of illegal immigration in parts of the country far from the border.
At the White House, some senior officials grew more pessimistic after the meeting, privately predicting that a shutdown was likely. One senior White House official gave an even less sunny summary of the meeting than Mr. Schumer did, suggesting that it was “cordial” but adding that a lengthy list of obstacles still remained. The official would not even echo Mr. Schumer’s assessment that progress had been made during the meeting. As the evening wore on, Mr. Schumer got a call from Mr. Kelly that dashed all hopes for a Trump-Schumer deal before the shutdown deadline of midnight. Mr. Kelly, a hard-liner on immigration, the person familiar with the call said, outlined a long list of White House objections to the deal.
The lack of any immediate success between the two men was a failure of what might have been. A White House official familiar with the call said Mr. Kelly urged Mr. Schumer to work out the details of an agreement with Mr. McConnell.
In a tweet at 9:28 p.m., Mr. Trump vented his pessimism on Twitter, returning to his administration’s efforts to try to make sure that Democrats receive the blame from voters angry about a government shutdown exactly one year from his inauguration.
“Not looking good for our great Military or Safety & Security on the very dangerous Southern Border,” Mr. Trump wrote. “Dems want a Shutdown in order to help diminish the great success of the Tax Cuts, and what they are doing for our booming economy.”
With talks between Mr. Trump and Mr. Schumer over, Republicans in the Senate scheduled a vote on a House-passed measure that leaders in both parties expected to fail. After the shutdown began, Mr. Schumer lamented the failure to reach a deal with the president, and blamed Mr. Trump for abandoning an agreement that was within reach.
“What happened to the President Trump who asked us to come up with a deal and promised to take the heat for it?” Mr. Schumer asked on the Senate floor. “What happened to that President Trump?”
The invitation for Mr. Schumer to come to the White House for a face-to-face with the president had been a heart-stopping moment for conservatives that conjured up their worst fears: a closed-door deal between Mr. Trump and the wily Democrat.
With Mr. Trump impatient to begin a golf-and-fund-raising weekend at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate, there was once again the prospect that the president would publicly side with his Democratic adversaries, who refused to fund the government unless Congress passed legislation to protect the Dreamers.
Privately, Mr. Trump’s impulses had led him to ignore political protocols and his own Republican allies, like Speaker Paul D. Ryan of Wisconsin and Mr. McConnell, who had groused about the president in recent days that the Senate would consider an immigration bill “as soon as we figure out what he is for.”
The lack of any success between Mr. Schumer and Mr. Trump was a failure of what might have been.
Once, in the days after the 2016 election, Mr. Schumer saw a path toward working with Mr. Trump. Just as Mr. McConnell did at the time, Mr. Schumer believed he would be able to guide Mr. Trump — who has few fixed positions — toward his own initiatives.Once, in the days after the 2016 election, Mr. Schumer saw a path toward working with Mr. Trump. Just as Mr. McConnell did at the time, Mr. Schumer believed he would be able to guide Mr. Trump — who has few fixed positions — toward his own initiatives.
Mr. Schumer is one of the few elected officials in Washington with whom Mr. Trump had something of a bond before he won the presidency. An adviser to Mr. Trump once pointed out that if the president had to choose between spending time with Mr. Schumer or Mr. McConnell, he would pick the Democratic leader almost every time.Mr. Schumer is one of the few elected officials in Washington with whom Mr. Trump had something of a bond before he won the presidency. An adviser to Mr. Trump once pointed out that if the president had to choose between spending time with Mr. Schumer or Mr. McConnell, he would pick the Democratic leader almost every time.
Mr. Schumer appeared on a Season 5 episode of “The Apprentice,” the reality show that helped Mr. Trump create a brand in the eyes of millions of voters as a take-charge businessman. During the show, Mr. Schumer predicted that the future president was “going to go places.”Mr. Schumer appeared on a Season 5 episode of “The Apprentice,” the reality show that helped Mr. Trump create a brand in the eyes of millions of voters as a take-charge businessman. During the show, Mr. Schumer predicted that the future president was “going to go places.”
During the transition, Mr. Schumer appeared on a panel at an event held by the Partnership for New York City, a business group, where Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, also spoke. Mr. Schumer told attendees that the Democrats had stymied their chances with a message that failed to track more closely with Mr. Trump’s calls for fair trade.During the transition, Mr. Schumer appeared on a panel at an event held by the Partnership for New York City, a business group, where Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, also spoke. Mr. Schumer told attendees that the Democrats had stymied their chances with a message that failed to track more closely with Mr. Trump’s calls for fair trade.
On Friday, with the clock ticking toward a midnight deadline, leaders in the House canceled plans to send members home for the weekend, just in case. In the Senate, all but three Democrats continued to oppose a spending plan unless Republicans agreed to permanently protect the Dreamers. In the wake of the failed negotiations on Capitol Hill and at the White House, Democrats predicted that the public would blame Mr. Trump and his Republican allies for a government shutdown, citing past examples of political stalemates in which voters punished Republican presidents and lawmakers.
Democrats predicted that the public would blame Mr. Trump and his Republican allies for a government shutdown, citing past examples of political stalemates in which voters punished Republican presidents and lawmakers. Throughout the day, Mr. Trump told aides that he knows he is going to get blamed for the shutdown, regardless of what happens and how it goes down.
But at the White House throughout the day, Mr. Trump’s aides maneuvered to try to shield the president from the political damage that could follow. At the same time, they waged an intense public relations campaign to argue that Democrats should shoulder the responsibility for keeping the functions of government operating. But at the White House, Mr. Trump’s aides maneuvered to try to shield the president from the political damage that could follow. At the same time, they waged an intense public relations campaign to argue that Democrats should shoulder the responsibility for keeping the functions of government operating.
Mr. Trump delayed his afternoon departure for Mar-a-Lago, and aides said he had called members of both parties in hope of averting a shutdown that could have unpredictable repercussions in a midterm election year.Mr. Trump delayed his afternoon departure for Mar-a-Lago, and aides said he had called members of both parties in hope of averting a shutdown that could have unpredictable repercussions in a midterm election year.
Mr. Mulvaney said the administration would instruct agencies to use reserve funds and to transfer money from other agencies to keep operations in place. He said the national parks would remain open and the military would continue to function, but he said employees performing those jobs would be doing so without pay until a spending agreement is reached. Mick Mulvaney, Mr. Trump’s top budget official, said the administration would instruct agencies to use reserve funds and to transfer money from other agencies to keep operations in place. He said the national parks would remain open and the military would continue to function, but he said employees performing those jobs would be doing so without pay until a spending agreement is reached.
In the morning, Mr. Mulvaney seemed resigned to failure, promising to “manage the shutdown differently” than President Barack Obama’s administration did a 2013 shutdown. He accused Mr. Obama of “weaponizing” that shutdown to maximize outrage against Republicans.In the morning, Mr. Mulvaney seemed resigned to failure, promising to “manage the shutdown differently” than President Barack Obama’s administration did a 2013 shutdown. He accused Mr. Obama of “weaponizing” that shutdown to maximize outrage against Republicans.
But by dinnertime, there were conflicting signals about what might happen. While Democrats said negotiations were continuing, administration officials began describing in detail how government agencies were planning to handle a shutdown. Still, Mr. Mulvaney seemed somewhat more optimistic.
“There’s a really good chance it gets fixed” before government offices open Monday, he said. Asked if Mr. Trump might still travel to Florida on Saturday, Mr. Mulvaney said, “He’s not leaving until this is finished.”