President Trump and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) met at the White House on Thursday to discuss Trump's hold on billions of dollars of funding for the Gateway Tunnel Project in New York.
Why it matters: It's the first meeting between the two New Yorkers since last year's explosive government shutdown battle. And Schumer used the opportunity to plead his case to the president on a list of issues, including a local one.
- Schumer's office said he urged Trump to release federal funding for the $16 billion Gateway tunnel during the meeting, which they said the president requested.
- Trump last year said he was withholding federal funding from the massive public works project — which includes the construction of new rail tunnels under the Hudson River —after Democrats picked a government shutdown fight.
- Schumer also urged Trump to push Senate Republicans to pass a House-passed extension of expired Affordable Care Act tax credits and to withdraw ICE from U.S. cities.
The big picture: Schumer's party is fuming over a string of ICE-involved shootings over the last two weeks, and some Democrats are itching for a fight with the White House over funding for the Department of Homeland Security.
- "Leader Schumer told the president ICE raids are terrorizing communities," a readout from Schumer's office said. "Leader Schumer also told President Trump that their actions are dangerous and putting more people at risk and he must pull back ICE from U.S. cities."
- Some Democrats on both sides of Capitol Hill have argued that the party should reject any funding for DHS that does not include constraints on ICE and other agencies.
- But Schumer has made clear that he thinks a government shutdown is off the table this time around.
Between the lines: Democrats' shutdown battle last year centered on a push to prevent the ACA tax credits from expiring.
- Although the House has now passed a three-year extension, Senate Republican leadership has shown no interest in moving that bill, and bipartisan talks in the Senate to find a compromise are stagnating.
