The tiff on Capitol Hill

Well, so much for President Trump’s brief rapprochement with “Chuck and Nancy!”

Hours before a planned White House meeting with congressional Republican and Democratic leaders, Trump tweeted:

“Meeting with ‘Chuck and Nancy’ today about keeping government open and working. Problem is they want illegal immigrants flooding into our Country unchecked, are weak on Crime and want to substantially RAISE Taxes. I don’t see a deal!”

Well, nothing like prejudging the outcome of a meeting and insulting the invited guests to win friends and influence outcomes.

Not surprisingly the two minority leaders, Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York and Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, backed out of the White House meeting.

“We don’t have any time to waste in addressing the issues that confront us, so we’re going to negotiate with Republican leaders who may be interested in reaching a bipartisan agreement,” Schumer said in a joint statement with Pelosi.

The immediate issue at hand is a possible Dec. 8 government shutdown if a number of stopgap spending bills are not passed by then. Also on the docket are hurricane aid and funding for children’s health insurance.

What is bewildering is that House Speaker Paul Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell immediately turned down the offer to work out a deal with their Democratic counterparts, insisting in a joint statement that “if Democrats want to reach an agreement, they will be there [at the White House].”

Funny we thought the Congress was actually an independent branch of government.

One thing is certain — if there is no deal to avoid a shutdown, it’s the GOP that will take the blame. Rightly or wrongly, it always does. Ryan and McConnell would be fools to think otherwise and to relinquish their roles as grownups in a very serious game.