Seats at the Table
When will President Trump meet with Congressional Democrats?
At a recent gathering in Miami, President Trump announced he would host his first meeting with Congressional Democrats by the end of February. While he did not name any specific Democrats, the President confirmed that “some good ones, some biggies” would attend.
But so far, there has been no follow-up or further discussion as to when and where the meeting would actually happen.
Even if the meeting happens this week as planned, President Trump is already behind schedule. In recent times, most presidents met with members of the other party in their first week in office. Even the stragglers, like Ronald Reagan and Joe Biden, got it done by early February.
President Trump risks taking Bill Clinton’s record for the latest meeting with the opposition party’s members of Congress since at least 1981:1
With so much on the line – a government shutdown just weeks away, a potential debt ceiling crisis later this year, a rare chance to reform our immigration system – both parties and both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue must work together to deliver real results.
The people know it, too. No Labels’ informal Twitter poll2 found 60 percent support for President Trump to “make room for Democrats at the governing table.”
Of course, not all Democrats are interested in taking a seat at the table. Some are instead “resisting” President Trump’s agenda at every turn. For example, shortly after being elected chair of the Democratic National Committee, Ken Martin insisted Democrats “have to stand up and resist with every fiber of our being.”
But some Democrats recognize they need to be able to oppose President Trump where they disagree even as they seek common ground in other areas, like reforming immigration. No Labels’ board member Dan Webb highlighted these commonsense Democrats in a recent article in The Hill:
Tom Suozzi (NY)
Vicente Gonzalez (TX)
Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (WA)
Jared Golden (ME)
Josh Gottheimer (NJ)
Don Davis (NC)
These six Democrats may not agree with President Trump on most issues, but they have shown they are willing to work together deliver results on the most important issues.
If and when President Trump decides to host his first bipartisan meeting, these six commonsense Democrats should be at the top of the invite list.
According to reports in the National Archives' "Public Papers of the Presidents." It's possible that presidents held off-the-record meetings with the opposition at an earlier date than indicated in the chart.
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Thanks to No Labels for this report and for naming the House Democrats seeking common ground.
Would that you could name a few House Republicans who are seeking common ground. The astounding lack of courage, decency, and leadership among Republican Representatives to do their job, to stand for what they believe in, is deplorable.
I understand that No Labels is all about compromise, but there comes a time when “common ground” that ignores constitutional norms must be called out and opposed.
Obviously, the majority of Americans want their elected representatives to work with the executive branch of gov't. The proclaimed 'resistors' are simply denigrating our system of government.