Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) asked President Donald Trump to withdraw immigration agents from major cities, calling a ramp-up in patrols and enforcement raids “dangerous” in a rare visit to the White House.
Trump requested the meeting, according to a readout from Schumer’s office, to discuss billions in federal dollars the White House froze last fall for the Gateway tunnel project, but the conversation turned to other Washington flashpoints, including the raids and Obamacare negotiations currently underway in the Senate.
“Leader Schumer told the president ICE raids are terrorizing communities,” said the readout. “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.”
A senior White House official separately confirmed the meeting took place on Thursday afternoon.
In Congress, a Democratic uproar over the fatal shooting of a woman in Minneapolis by immigration authorities has delayed passage of a Department of Homeland Security spending bill, with Democrats wanting additional guardrails on officer conduct. Political tensions rose further on Thursday as Trump threatened to send troops to Minnesota to tamp down days of protests.
The last time Schumer visited the White House, he sat down with the president and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) to discuss enhanced Obamacare subsidies, leaving without a deal to extend them.
The two addressed those subsidies again on Thursday, with Schumer pressing for a three-year extension. However, Trump has shown little interest in a renewal without major reforms, and the proposal was missing from a healthcare framework he released on Thursday.
Schumer also pressed Trump to release funding for the Gateway tunnel, a $16 billion project that connects New York City and New Jersey.
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In October, White House budget chief Russ Vought blamed a delay in funding on an administrative review of whether the money is going toward “unconstitutional DEI principles.”
Other administration officials cited the 43-day government shutdown, calling the pause necessary due to funding limitations, though Democrats insisted the review was political retaliation. Schumer, the top Senate Democrat, represents New York.