Pelosi, Schumer puts Trump under pressure

Congress

Democratic leaders meet the president at the White House for the first time since the 35 days of arrest.

Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer expose a series of heavy demands in anticipation of their meeting with President Donald Trump on Tuesday, an initiative that could potentially break talks on bipartisan infrastructure before they actually start.

In a letter to Trump on Monday, the Speaker of the House and the minority leader in the Senate detailed three infrastructure priorities they wish to discuss at their first meeting with the President since the bureau's explosion oval televised on government funding in December.

But a source close to Schumer has gone even further than the letter, saying that unless Trump plans to cancel some of the 2017 Republican tax cuts in order to fund new investments, the high-ranking senator Democrat would not even consider a proposal from the president aimed at raising the price of gasoline. tax – the main funding mechanism for federal highways and public transit programs. A Pelosi spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment indicating whether she was in agreement with the position.

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It is unlikely that Trump agrees to renegotiate its big legislative achievement – leave party leaders without a clear way to pay for any bipartisan infrastructure deal.

"As you know, the infrastructure issue is a priority of the bipartisan Congress and we believe that the majority in the House and Senate must act on the issue," Trump Pelosi and Schumer wrote Monday.

In the letter, the Democratic leaders described three areas in which they wish to work with the president when they gather at the White House on Tuesday. In addition to revenues, the two largest Democrats want Trump to agree that any infrastructure deal will go beyond transportation to include water and energy projects, among other initiatives, and will be based on and companies based in the United States.

The issue of financing the country's roads and transit systems has been a concern for the leaders of both sides for years. Legislators have refused to raise the gas tax since its last increase more than 25 years ago. And it's not easier this time, as congressional leaders and Trump are considering a potential infusion of several trillion dollars in public works.

But this letter is also a way for Democratic leaders to try to set the tone in anticipation of the much-anticipated meeting, the first reunion between the two parties since a combative Oval Office meeting in December to discuss government funding. This is also the first time Trump and Pelosi have met at the White House since she found the speaker's maul in January.

Sarah Sanders, press secretary at the White House, called the meeting a "good first step" on Monday, but declined to say anything if Trump would propose to the Democrats.

"It's certainly a big step forward that the two sides, who frankly have been very hostile to each other over the past two months, sit down at the table and discuss a problem at home. settle, "she said.

Democrats are gearing up for the meeting and are taking steps to anticipate and counter Trump's unpredictability – whether the president is trying to televise the entire meeting or what to do if he goes off the screenplay and that talks about the report of the special advocate Robert Mueller are proposed.

Pelosi and Schumer will be accompanied by several Democrats from the House and Senate who will have a say in any infrastructure deal. The best Democrats should also meet Monday night to plan their meeting with Trump.

The meeting takes place as House Democrats simultaneously conduct a series of investigations into almost every aspect of Trump's orbit, from his administration to his commercial relations and his personal finances.

Just this week, Democrats in the House should hear Attorney General William Barr on the handling of the Mueller report, as well as a former senior official on possible violations of security clearances within l & # 39; administration. But House Democrats have often quarreled with senior administration officials over the parameters of these hearings and their refusal to testify or to provide demanding documents to legislators.

Still, Pelosi has long claimed that infrastructure is an area where House Democrats can meet with Trump and the Senate controlled by the GOP of this Congress. The idea – which made Trump a central part of his campaign for the White House – was at the center of the annual Democrats retreat earlier this month.

Pelosi called Trump in early April and personally requested the meeting. The two men have not spoken since this call, according to the White House.

In addition to Pelosi, Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), Majority Whip Jim Clyburn (DS.C.), and Vice President Ben Ray Lujan (DN.M.) will be attending. meeting. The Chairman of the Transportation Committee of the House, Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) And Ways and Means Committee Chair Richard Neal (D-Mass.), Are also on the invitation list.

On the Senate side, Schumer will be joined by Senate D-detective whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) And other members of the Democratic leadership, including Sense. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) And Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.). Senators Tom Carper (D-Del.) And Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), The high-ranking Democrats whose committees deal with transportation, will also be present.

Anita Kumar contributed to this report.