Trump scraps meeting with Democrats, raising government shutdown risk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday scrapped a meeting with top congressional Democratic leaders to discuss government funding, raising the risk of a partial government shutdown beginning next week.

Top congressional Democrats and the Republican president postured to try to pin blame on each other for a potential shutdown, which would interfere with a wide range of federal services and likely furlough hundreds of thousands of federal workers.

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"I have decided that no meeting with their congressional Leaders could possibly be productive," Trump wrote in a post on his Truth social media site.

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House of Representatives Democratic Leader Jeffries earlier on Tuesday had said Trump had agreed to meet this week at the White House, before government funding expires on September 30. Lawmakers are at odds over so-called discretionary funding, which accounts for just about one-quarter of the roughly $7 trillion federal budget.

"Democrats are ready to work to avoid a shutdown," Schumer said in a statement responding to Trump's message. "Trump and Republicans are holding America hostage."