White House deputy press secretary Hogan Gidley shared his observation Democratic congressional leaders not wanting to speak in front of the press in a Friday interview on “Fox and Friends.”
Gidley said:
I was standing in the Oval Office and watched Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi give each other non-verbal cues the entire time and not give eye contact to the president. They played off each other. What they did when the president said, ‘We’ll have the conversation in a transparent way with all the world to see,’ they didn’t like that or want that … They prefer smoke-filled, back rooms to cut deals that hurt the American people.
Incoming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (L) and incoming House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi (C) confer with US Presiden Donald Trump (R) December 11, 2018 at the White House in Washington, DC. (Photo by Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP)
Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer met with Trump Tuesday to negotiate over a spending bill set to expire. Trump is demanding $5 billion from Democratic lawmakers for a wall along the U.S. southern border while Democrats are offering only $1.3 billion. (Related: Trump Says ‘I’m Proud To Shut Down Government’ To Schumer, Pelosi)
During the meeting, Pelosi, in particular, objected to having a discussion over the issue in front of the news media, to which Trump replied, “Its called transparency.”
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 11: U.S. President Donald Trump argues about border security with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in the Oval Office on December 11, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)
The pair of lawmakers said after the meeting that they had no intention of meeting Trump’s demands and told him they would only offer him the option of passing existing levels of funding for the Department of Homeland Security. Schumer and Pelosi both said Trump would be to blame for any potential government shutdown.
The deadline for spending is Dec. 21, though there have been no current breakthroughs on negotiations.