Hours after President Donald Trump told Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer to “go to hell” in a Saturday post on social media, the Senate was poised to head into recess following failed attempts to reach a deal over confirming Trump’s nominees.
Senate Republican leader John Thune, Schumer and the White House had been engaged in a round of intense talks to end the standoff so senators could return to their home states, sources briefed on the conversations told CNN.
Schumer had requested federal funds be released and that Trump agree not to push another legislative package that would slash federal funding, sources told CNN.
But, on social media, Trump called Schumer’s demands “egregious and unprecedented,” a sign that talks had collapsed.
Trump had wanted the Senate to confirm his nominees even if that meant skipping the August recess.
On the Senate floor Saturday night, Thune asked for unanimous consent for the chamber to vote on a handful of nominations and then break for a month.
Democrats had been slow-walking Trump’s lower-level nominees, forcing Thune to keep the Senate in session this weekend to confirm them. In the minority, Democrats have the power to force Thune to jump over time-consuming hurdles before they can vote.
Schumer made several demands to agree to let a batch of nominations be quickly confirmed by the Senate, according to the sources. The demands included the unfreezing of federal funds for an array of programs, including the National Institutes of Health and foreign aid.
Schumer also wanted Trump to agree that he won’t attempt to push through another package to slash federal funding known as “rescissions” — after a $9 billion package to codify some cuts was approved earlier this summer.
“Tell Schumer, who is under tremendous political pressure from within his own party, the Radical Left Lunatics, to GO TO HELL!” Trump wrote Saturday. “Do not accept the offer, go home and explain to your constituents what bad people the Democrats are, and what a great job the Republicans are doing, and have done, for our Country. Have a great RECESS.”
This story and headline have been updated with additional developments.
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