Politics

President Trump abruptly cancelled a planned Thursday meeting at the White House with top congressional Democratic leaders, increasing the chances of a government shutdown on Oct. 1.

Shortly after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries claimed victory in a joint statement for securing the meeting on Tuesday morning, the president posted on his social media platform that he was calling it off. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., departs a press conference at the U.S. Capitol on Tuesday. Johnson has been working to rally House Republicans behind a stopgap funding bill to avert a government shutdown, while also navigating growing pressure to boost security for lawmakers in the wake of Charlie Kirk's killing. Politics House approves stopgap spending bill but health care fight threatens a shutdown

"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," the president wrote.